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FEATURES 24

straight to the point

happy days

pushing the envelope

6 News & Notes From Around 10 12 13 14 15

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the World of NASCAR Seven-Time Champion Still Wide Open Giveaways & Getaways The NASCAR Foundation Team Chatter Q&A with NASCAR Nationwide Series Driver Elliott Sadler Walmart Race Time Bush’s French Grilled Steak Recipe

tailgating 18 Hitting the Jackpot 20 Tailgating Cheat Sheet 22 On the Menu

driver profiles

29 30

nascar fuel 57 Lifestyle 58 Fun Pages

Kevin Harvick puts family ahead of racing while searching for ﬁrst NASCAR Sprint Cup Series championship Eddie Gossage works hard to make Texas track ‘stand out’

covered up

Bristol’s Terry King stays busy painting walls and signs

on the road

Tales from Jeff Craven, driver of the No. 31 RCR Transporter

School Of Hard Knocks

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Danica learns valuable lessons at Daytona The latest products from our advertisers

rosters & schedules

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INSIDER’S VIEW

33 Super Powers

56 Careers

After nearly winning it all in 2011, Carl Edwards refocuses on title quest

Teams and dates for the top three NASCAR series

Matt Kenseth celebrates victory with his team at the Daytona 500 NASCAR Pole Position is now available on your tablet or PC. Head to Zinio.com or download the app on your device for more information.

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green flag news & notes from the world of NASCAR NASCAR Drive for Diversity, which is entering its ninth season as NASCAR’s leading on-track initiative. Rev Racing collected six wins in the NASCAR K&N Pro Series East and had three drivers finish in the top 10 in series points last year. “The NASCAR Drive for Diversity initiative achieved unprecedented success in 2011 on the race track, and created momentum for driver NASCAR DRIVE FOR DIVERSITY advancement to opportunities INITIATIVE BUILDING OFF beyond the program,” said Marcus HISTORIC SEASON Jadotte, NASCAR vice president of he new driver line-up for the public affairs and multicultural development. NASCAR Drive for Diversity 2012 The Rev Racing team drivers were chosen season will consist of six drivers after they competed in the NASCAR Drive who will compete for Rev Racing. Four for Diversity Combine last fall. Selected drivteams will be fielded in the NASCAR K&N ers demonstrated their abilities in a headPro Series and two teams in the NASCAR to-head evaluation session both on and off Whelen All-American Series. Rev Racing, the track. Toyota, Sprint and Goodyear are formerly known as Revolution Racing, opthe primary partners supporting Rev Racing erates under the ownership of Max Siegel. and NASCAR Drive for Diversity. The four NASCAR K&N Pro Series drivers, Information on the NASCAR K&N Pro SeJorge Arteaga, Ryan Gifford, Kyle Larson and ries East and NASCAR Whelen All-American Bryan Ortiz, will compete in the East, which Series is available at NASCARHomeTracks. opened its season at Bristol (Tenn.) Motor com or by following @NASCARHomeTrack Speedway on Saturday, March 17. Mackena (hashtags: #KNEast & #NWAAS); Rev RacBell and Trey Gibson will compete in the Late ing’s official website and Twitter is RevRacModel division at multiple NASCAR Whelen ing.net and @RevRacin; information on the All-American Series tracks in the Southeast. NASCAR Drive for Diversity can be found The team is coming off the most sucat NASCARDiversity.com or on Twitter cessful season in the history of the @NASCARDiversity.

FORD UNVEILS 2013 FUSION RACE CAR THE 2013 FORD FUSION NASCAR SPRINT

Cup Series car, unveiled early this year, was worked on by Ford designers in an effort to bring brand identity back to the sport. The result is undeniable with the 2013 NASCAR Sprint Cup car mirroring the 2013 Ford Fusion production car. Featuring a completely redesigned sleek new silhouette and fresh face, the 2013 Ford Fusion NASCAR Sprint Cup car was designed to be the face of a new era of stock car racing. 06

POLE POSITION // 2012

SPECIAL OPS PARTNERS WITH MOTORSPORTS INDUSTRY

he North Carolina Motorsports Industry and the U.S. Army Special Operations Command have formed a strategic partnership to grow North Carolina’s defense and homeland security economy and increase soldier safety and capability. The historic collaboration was announced by North Carolina Gov. Bev Perdue; Lt. Gen. John F. Mulholland Jr., Commanding General, USASOC; and NASCAR President Mike Helton. The formal Memorandum of Agreement – facilitated by the N.C. Department of Commerce, the N.C. Military Foundation, the N.C. Motorsports Advisory Council and USASOC Mobility – will allow the nation’s most respected motorsports companies and the world’s premier special operations force to mutually benefit through shared capabilities, knowledge, requirements, expertise, and training specific to vehicle performance. “The motorsports industry and Special Ops have forged a historic partnership that is unique to North Carolina,” said Gov. Perdue. “This partnership will have worldwide implications. It improves safety and performance of military vehicles for our troops and creates jobs and investment opportunities in North Carolina.” Lt. Gen. Mulholland explained that Special Operations Forces are “constantly seeking innovative methods to make our operators more effective, and the amazing technologies developed by North Carolina motorsports companies have direct applications to the many complex problems we face.”

“We wanted Fusion to be the car that helped return ‘stock car’ to NASCAR,” said Jamie Allison, director, Ford Racing. “I think fans, when they see the car, are just going to smile and cheer. It is going to re-engage them with the sport and make the sport better because there is just something natural about seeing race cars that look like cars in their driveways. “The 2013 Fusion is a stunning car and the 2013 NASCAR Fusion is even more stunning and I can’t wait to see it perform on the track and connect with race fans.”

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green flag BLAKE SHELTON TO PERFORM AT ALL-STAR RACE

COLORFUL TWEETS SPICE UP NASCAR

lake Shelton, the CMA’s reigning Male Vocalist of the Year and a coach on NBC’s “The Voice,” will perform a pre-race concert for the NASCAR Sprint All-Star Race on Saturday night, May 19, at Charlotte Motor Speedway. Presented by Target, the concert will take place in the infield between Turns 1 and 2. Admission to the show is free with the purchase of a ticket to the NASCAR Sprint All-Star Race. “I cannot wait to help kick-off one of the biggest all-star events in pro sports, the NASCAR Sprint All-Star Race at Charlotte Motor Speedway,” said Shelton. “We’re going to party.” Shelton burst onto the music scene in 2001 when he released his debut single, “Austin.” The song quickly rose to No. 1 on Billboard’s Country Music chart. Since then the Oklahoma native has gone on to record nine more No. 1 hits. In addition to winning back-to-back honors as the CMA’s Male Vocalist of the Year, Shelton was named Favorite Country Male Artist by the American Music Awards, and was nominated for three Grammy Awards. Frontstretch tickets for the NASCAR Sprint All-Star Race start at just $49 and can be purchased by calling 1-800-455FANS or 1-866-GO-NASCAR; or online at charlottemotorspeedway.com.

CRS BECOMES NASCAR GREEN PARTNER

reative Recycling Systems, a leader in the processing of endof-life electronics, has joined the roster of Official NASCAR Green Partners. CRS supplies small, mid-size and Fortune 100 companies, government agencies, nonprofit organizations, educational institutions and concerned citizens with the best solutions for electronics reuse and recycling. By providing electronic asset disposition management, data security services and by utilizing state-of-the-art processing and separation technology, CRS prevents millions of pounds of electronics from entering the world’s landfills each year. “By partnering with NASCAR, we will be able to reach millions of concerned fans every week, fulfilling our mission of building awareness around the fastest growing waste stream in the world,” said CRS Founder and CEO Jon Yob. “We have spent 18 years developing and utilizing the best available technology in the world to provide true solutions for the reuse and recycling of the gadgets we as a society have come to rely on.”

DAYTONA TO HOST SHORT-TRACK RACES THE BRIGHT LIGHTS OF DAYTONA INTERNATIONAL SPEEDWAY WILL SHINE ON THE STARS

of NASCAR’s regional and touring series on Feb. 18-19, 2013, when the legendary track hosts the inaugural UNOH Battle at the Beach. The two days of racing will be headlined by three non-points special events for the NASCAR K&N Pro Series, NASCAR Whelen Modified tours and the Late Model division of the NASCAR Whelen All-American Series. A temporary oval will be set up on Daytona’s Superstretch to host the races. It is tentatively slated to be approximately .4-mile. Both nights of racing will be televised by SPEED.

ASCAR Sprint Cup Series drivers had a large presence on Twitter as the 2012 season got underway.

@DanicaPatrick

How am I supposed to feel good about turning 30 next month when I find gray hairs (plural). Frightening stuff. Danica Patrick, Feb. 22

■ Following: LeBron James, Kim Kardashian

@DennyHamlin

Wow I look up and see I have 20k new followers in the last few days. Welcome to my world peeps Denny Hamlin, Feb. 29

■ Following: Charlie Sheen, Tiger Woods

@J_Logano

Yes I was just that guy who was running through the airport haha I made it Joey Logano, March 1

@JPMontoya

I’m glad I made it home in one piece. What a freak accident. Wanna thank everybody for the messages!!! Now we move to phoenix. Juan Pablo Montoya, Feb. 28, a day after hitting a jet dryer under caution in the Daytona 500, triggering a fire on the track. ■ Following: Danica Patrick, Rubens Barrichello

@Keselowski

So what does every1 think of the #DAYTONA500? We got a pretty good shot at it. I think the end is gonna be crazyyyyyy! Brad Keselowski, Feb. 28, from his car during the extended Daytona 500 red ﬂag period.

OFFICE DEPOT RECEIVES DRIVING BUSINESS AWARD

fﬁce Depot recently received the NASCAR Driving Business Award, presented annually to the NASCAR Official Partner that demonstrates extraordinary leadership and results through its participation in the NASCAR Fuel for Business Council. The award was presented to NASCAR’s Official Office Supply Partner in Las Vegas during the most recent NFFB Council meeting. Office Depot is also the co-primary sponsor of NASCAR Sprint Cup Series champion Tony Stewart’s No. 14 Chevrolet. “Office Depot is a great example of how an official partner can get a return on their sponsorship investment in NASCAR,” said Norris Scott, NASCAR vice president of partnership marketing and business solutions.

POLE POSITION // 2012

■ Following: New England Patriots, Hulk Hogan

■ Following: Desmond Howard, DeLana Harvick

@MW55

Yesterday was sleep day. Today leap day! Michael Waltrip, Feb. 29, two days after working as a NASCAR on FOX analyst for the rain-delayed Daytona 500. ■ Following: Kate Upton, Darius Rucker

You can’t always see what’s coming. But the reinvented, technologically advanced 2012 Toyota Camry has got eyes where you don’t. With the available Blind Spot Monitor (BSM),

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hiding there on your left and right. And when combined with a cabin that’s redesigned for better visibility, you’ll be able to see like never before. Because one of the best ways to avoid an accident is to see it coming.

Prototype shown with optional equipment. Production model may vary. 1. Do not rely exclusively on the Blind Spot Monitor to determine if a lane change is safe. Always look over your shoulder and use your turn signal before changing lanes. There are several limitations to the function, detection, range and clarity of the monitor. For a complete list of limitations and directions regarding use of the monitor, please see the Owner’s Manual. 2. Blind Spot Monitor available on XLE and Hybrid XLE models only. ©2011 Toyota Motor Sales, U.S.A., Inc.

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green flag Seven-Time Champion Still Wide Open

RICHARD PETTY BACK ON TOP WITH STRONG CARS AND DRIVERS

uring a driving career that spanned from 1958 through 1992, Richard Petty enjoyed more success than any other competitor in NASCAR’s 64year history. When he took his final green flag 20 years ago at Atlanta Motor Speedway, Petty had claimed seven NASCAR premier series championships and 200 series victories in 1,185 starts. For decades, the resident of Randleman, N.C., has fielded NASCAR Sprint Cup cars through several race teams, including Petty Enterprises, the powerhouse organization formed by his father, three-time NASCAR premier series champion Lee Petty. “For me, [NASCAR] Sprint Cup racing is a way of life,” Petty said. “I started racing with NASCAR in 1949, the year they started. At that point, I was young and didn’t have a way of life. My dad went into the racing business at that point and time and was in it throughout his life. It’s sort of like being a farmer. Racing is basically all I know. I just enjoy being around the people and doing all of the traveling. “Sometimes it gets to be kind of an old deal, but it’s my way of life,” Petty continued. “I get up every morning thinking about the race car, thinking about the appearances

POLE POSITION // 2012

BY BEN WHITE

I’ve been asked to do or whatever I need to do that day. “Every once in a while, Lynda, my wife, says, ‘Why don’t you back away from that, let them have it and don’t even go?’ But if I did that, I would have to start a new life. At 75 years old, I don’t want to do that. I think I will just continue on with this one.” This season, Petty is associated with Richard Petty Motorsports, the racing organization he helped form. But Petty insists his role with the team is limited. “I try to stay away from them as much as possible,” Petty said with a big laugh. “I show up once a week and we talk about what happened the previous week and what we think will happen in the coming week. As far as me guiding those guys, it’s just like what I told them in the beginning; my partners put the team together and it’s really their team. They are the ones who have got to run it because they are there on a day-to-day basis. “I can’t truthfully make a decision for them to do something because I don’t

always know what they did to fix that particular problem. It’s really up to them how good they do things. I will kick them every once in a while if they don’t do good. As far as telling them what to do, I sort of leave it up to them.” Petty is proud to currently have drivers who appear to have bright futures as Marcos Ambrose and Aric Almirola are at the controls of the team’s Fords in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series with Michael Annett driving in the NASCAR Nationwide Series. Wins are certainly not out of the question for any of the team’s drivers. “In 2012, we just feel like we are light years ahead of where we were last year,” Petty said. “We are pretty optimistic that this is the year. We were able to keep Stanley Tools on board and Smithfield Foods coming to the 43 car and all of that stuff seems to be coming together. That just gives us that much more confidence that everything is supposed to be that way.” Just as he has done for decades, Petty continues to keep a busy schedule and doesn’t show any signs of slowing down. “I’m doing commercials these days, especially with Smithfield Foods coming on and I’ve done a bunch of stuff with them,” Petty explained. “I’m still doing some things with Stanley Tools and I’m also involved with the Richard Petty Driving Experience. I’m also busy with the Petty Family Founda-

At 75 years old, I don’t want to [start a new life]. I think I will just continue on with this one. tion and Victory Junction [a camp formed by son Kyle Petty for children with special medical needs]. Then we also have Petty’s Garage there at Level Cross in the old Petty Enterprises facility where we are rebuilding cars. So my time is pretty well taken up.”

Richard Petty

The King of Speed

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green flag Sunoco’s NASCAR Involvement Embraces Competitors and Fans

MERCHANDISE AND VIP WEEKEND GIVEAWAYS

nce Sunoco, the world’s leading producer of racing gasoline, partnered with NASCAR in 2004, it ushered the sanctioning body into a more environmental friendly era with its ethanol blend. Sunoco Green E15 is 15 percent American-made ethanol from corn grown by American farmers and 85 percent gasoline. The 98 octane unleaded fuel, specifically engineered for high-performance engines at Sunoco’s refinery in Marcus Hook, Pa., is used in NASCAR’s three national touring series and is provided free to the competitors for all qualifying and race events. The Official Fuel of NASCAR transitioned to E15 in 2011, but Sunoco fuel has been involved in racing since 1966 when the company teamed with Roger Penske Racing and driver Mark Donohue. It sold its first drum of race fuel in 1976

to Buzzie Reutimann, father of NASCAR driver David Reutimann. Then, in 1989, it sponsored its first NASCAR team with Sterling Marlin as the driver. Two years later, Terry Labonte took over the ride. Now the familiar Sunoco diamond logo can be seen everywhere at tracks hosting NASCAR’s top three series. Sunoco signs 12

POLE POSITION // 2012

BY DEB WILLIAMS

SUNOCO INFO

HEADQUARTERS: Philadelphia OFFICIAL FUEL OF NASCAR: Since 2004 WEBSITE: gosunoco.com CORPORATE WEBSITE: sunocoinc.com COMPANY FOUNDED: March 27, 1886

are at the entrance and exit of each pit road, and the logo is on the front quarter panels of all race trucks and cars, on the drivers’ uniforms and on the fuel cans. There are also 135 people that comprise the Sunoco Fuel Crew who fill the teams’ dump cans before and during races. The crew members are trained extensively before assuming their duties and average 10 years of NASCAR experience. However, Sunoco’s NASCAR involvement isn’t limited to providing fuel. Fans can enter the Sunoco Weekends of Speed Ticket Giveaway at the company’s Facebook page. The promotion allows fans to win tickets and a VIP experience to NASCAR races across the country. Sunoco also provides the latest NASCAR statistics and race schedules with its complimentary widgets, which can be integrated into a person’s blog, website or social media page. SPEED’s NASCAR Sprint Cup Series pre-race show is known as “NASCAR Race Day Fueled By Sunoco.” The 125-year-old company sponsors the TV show’s Pit Strategy segment as well. Sunoco merchandise is also available to fans. Men’s and women’s polo shirts and jackets, a golf bag, beverage insulator, travel mug, stadium blanket, optical mouse, backpack and lunch cooler are among the items available that tout Sunoco as the Official Fuel of NASCAR. These items may be obtained at gosunoco.com. It’s truly a partnership that embraces the fans as well as the competitors.

GIVEAWAYS & GETAWAYS M&M's When We Win, You Could Win Sweepstakes Jan. 16 – Nov. 21 mms.com/us/racing/wewinyouwin Kraft’s Win a Nabisco VIP NASCAR® Experience Feb. 1 – Sept. 30 nabiscoworld.com

Driver Pick ’em Presented by Nationwide Insurance Feb. 20 – Nov. 17 espn.com, search for keyword ‘Nationwide Insurance’

Sunoco’s Weekly NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Ticket Giveaway Feb. 24 – Nov. 16 facebook.com/OfficialFuel

Your Ticket to the Track Feb. 1 – Dec. 30 3Mcollision.com

Ford’s Win My Fusion Sweepstakes Feb. 24 – Oct. 28 WinMyFusion.com

The NASCAR Foundation

AIDING CHILDREN, CHARITABLE CAUSES NATIONWIDE BY DEB WILLIAMS

fter its creation in 2006, The NASCAR Foundation has served as the liaison between the sport and all of the charitable causes supported by its different constituents. It has enabled children to meet their heroes and experience NASCAR up close, benefitted children with debilitating illnesses, underprivileged youth and children with parents serving in the military, and recognized those in the community who have provided humanitarian efforts. Originally based in Charlotte, N.C., The NASCAR Foundation is in the process of moving its headquarters to Daytona Beach,

Photo courtesy NASCAR Foundation

■ The NASCAR Foundation helped kick oﬀ Homestead Hospital’s capital campaign to build and equip a Level II Neonatal Intensive Care Unit with a check for $250,000

Fla., to be closer to its founder and chairwoman, Betty Jane France. It’s critical for The NASCAR Foundation to be closer to its head since it reviews charity requests on a regular basis, links all of its charitable initiatives, and works with drivers and their foundations or favorite charity. Under France’s guidance, the 501c3 nonprofit foundation has been able to assist in taking the Speediatrics concept she originally introduced at Halifax Health Medical Center in Daytona Beach, Fla., in 2000 to Florida’s Homestead Hospital. Speediatrics opened at the Homestead Hospital in 2002, but it was December 2007 before the Betty Jane France Children’s Emergency Center was unveiled. When France created Speediatrics she envisioned a place where children were not intimidated by the overwhelming hospital experience. In the unit, each waiting room, nurses’ station, hallway and patient room has a motorsports theme, including race cars, colorful cartoon characters and checkered flags. It’s an environment that helps take the children’s minds off their illnesses and treatment. At Halifax Health Medical Center, the 36-bed unit includes general pediatric care and a five-bed pediatric intensive care unit, the first and only ICU for children in East Central Florida. Speediatrics cares for more than 2,000 children annually with another 400 or more receiving critical care in the PICU. There’s also a special pediatrics fast track unit in Halifax’s emergency

Ethan Miller/Getty Images

■ Robert Weaver receiving the inaugural Betty Jane France Humanitarian Award

department where more than 20,000 children are treated annually. At Homestead, Speediatrics is the only emergency center in south Miami-Dade County dedicated to children. The eight-bed unit includes a pediatric trauma room with nurses and support staff who are certified in pediatric advanced life support. More than 15,000 children visit the Speediatrics Children’s Emergency Center annually. In 2011, The NASCAR Foundation introduced the Betty Jane France Humanitarian Award, which focuses on those in communities across the United States who represent the generosity found in NASCAR. People, who have shown extraordinary charity and kindness of spirit in working for children in need, may be nominated for the award at The NASCAR Foundation website. Robert Weaver, who has supported the Alabama Institute for Deaf and Blind for decades, received the award in its inaugural year. To learn more about The NASCAR Foundation, go to nascarfoundation.com.

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green flag Team Chatter NEWS FROM THE GARAGE AREA

he race teams – comprised of the men and women who build and prepare the cars – are an integral part of the NASCAR equation and they generate a tremendous amount of off-track news. Earnhardt Ganassi Signs Kyle Larson: Earnhardt Ganassi Racing with Felix Sabates has signed 19-year-old Kyle Larson to a driver development contract. The Elk Grove, Calif., native took the open-wheel racing world by storm in 2011. Larson captured 22 major professional feature wins, including victories in the World of Outlaws Sprint Car Series, all three United States Auto Club national series and the American Sprint Car Series. Larson gained international notoriety last fall by sweeping the 4-Crown Nationals at Eldora Speedway – winning in midgets, sprint cars and Silver Crown cars in the same night. In addition to his role as an Earnhardt Ganassi Racing development driver, Larson, who is Japanese American, will participate in the NASCAR Drive for Diversity program this season, driving for Rev Racing in the NASCAR K&N Pro Series East. RCR Partners with K&N Engineering: Richard Childress Racing and K&N Engineering, a leading innovator of reusable cotton gauze filter technology for automotive applications, have reached an agreement on a multi-year partnership for ECR Engines’ NASCAR program. The technical partnership provides ECR Engines with K&N Engineering air and oil filters as well as research and development support. K&N Engineering will receive marketing rights to Richard Childress Racing’s drivers, cars and teams in the NASCAR Sprint Cup, NASCAR Nationwide and NASCAR Camping World Truck Series. All RCR race cars will display the K&N

POLE POSITION // 2012

decals through the NASCAR Contingency Sponsor program as well as having the K&N logo under the hood of every car. Kenseth’s No. 17 to Carry Zest Colors: The Zest brand of bar soap and body wash has joined the roster of primary sponsors for the No. 17 Roush Fenway Racing Ford driven by Daytona 500 winner Matt Kenseth. Zest wash will serve as Kenseth’s primary sponsor in four races. The relationship started at Las Vegas and the Zest colors will appear again at Daytona (July 7), Kansas (Oct. 21) and Martinsville (Oct. 28). “Matt and the Roush Fenway team are perennial winners with a loyal following who respect their ability to deliver high-energy performances on the track and a first class, clean image off the track,” said Jim Daniels, president and CEO of High Ridge Brands, the owners of Zest bar soap and body wash. Regan Smi t h Tours Locomot ive: It wasn’t the “little engine that could” that NASCAR driver Regan Smith toured. Instead, it was a big, powerful machine with a weight of approximately 125 times more than his 3,450-pound No. 78 Chevrolet race car. Early this year, Smith toured the headquarters of CSX Transportation in Jacksonville, Fla. The visit included a trip to a railroad yard where Smith got up-close and personal to a 434,000-pound CSX locomotive. CSX Transportation, which is the largest railroad in the East, is an associate sponsor of Smith’s Furniture Row Racing team. CSX is building on several years of its innovative safety communications campaign and will utilize the Furniture Row Racing sponsorship as part of the “Play it Safe” campaign to urge pedestrians and motorists to exercise caution around railroad tracks. Schick Extends Pact with Michael Waltrip Racing: The maker of Schick Xtreme3 razors has extended its partnership with Martin Truex Jr. and Michael Waltrip Racing. “We’re excited to continue working with Martin this year,” said Suma Nagaraj, brand manager for Schick Xtreme3. “Martin connects with our core consumers and NASCAR fans, on and off the track. His lifestyle embodies the essence of Xtreme3: confident and relatable; someone who performs at the top level, but has diverse interests and an active lifestyle.” Kimberly-Clark Back with Penske Racing: Kimberly-Clark Professional is continuing its relationship with the Penske

Racing teams competing in NASCAR and the IZOD IndyCar Series. The partnership, which began in 2011, will assist in the promotion and marketing of some of the top products within Kimberly-Clark Professional, including *WYPALL Wipers as well as a host of personal protective equipment under the Jackson Safety and Kleenguard Brands.

NEW ELIGIBILITY RULES FOR 2013 SHOOTOUT

THE STARTING FIELD FOR THE 2013

Shootout at Daytona will consist of 2012 Coors Light Pole winners and past Shootout winners who have attempted to qualify for at least one race during the 2012 season. The new eligibility rules for the annual non-points race mirror those that were used from 1979 to 2008. “Fans have expressed their desire to see this event return to its original eligibility rules,” said Steve O’Donnell, NASCAR senior vice president of racing operations. “We listened and decided it would be best to return to the eligibility rules of years past adding further meaning to pole qualifying for each NASCAR Sprint Cup race.”

NASCAR FOUNDATION MOVING TO DAYTONA

THE NASCAR FOUNDATION, THE

nonprofit entity that embodies the compassion of the NASCAR family and its commitment to serving communities, is moving to Daytona Beach, Fla. NASCAR President Mike Helton said NASCAR’s charitable arm will relocate from Charlotte, N.C., during the later part of the 2012 racing season. The Foundation’s new home will be the International Motorsports Center, the corporate headquarters for NASCAR, International Speedway Corp. and GRAND-AM Road Racing. “This move will enable The NASCAR Foundation to be fully integrated with our corporate headquarters in Daytona Beach,” said Betty Jane France, the foundation’s chairwoman and founder.

Q&A

with NASCAR Nationwide Series Driver Elliott Sadler

What’s your favorite hobby outside of racing? Sadler: Easy answer – hunting. My dad took me when I was a kid, that’s all we do and that’s what I do my whole offseason is hunt, man. I just love it, love the outdoors, love spending time with my family and friends doing that. Favorite Hunting Spot? Sadler: At home. We’ve got a bunch of land at home in southern Virginia. We kill a lot of deer. It’s just a fun place to hunt. What’s a typical day like at the Sadler house? Sadler: It’s wild. My son, Wyatt, is 2 years old and he’s getting pretty fired up. Everybody’s up at 8 o’clock every morning. I’m playing and wrestling with him on the floor, making him breakfast, taking him to lunch around lunchtime. He goes to bed around 2 o’clock for about a two-hour nap and then that’s when I get my gym time in from 2 to 4 when he’s taking a nap. He gets up; we wrestle some more, watch a little TV and then go from there. And then my wife does a good job of taking care of our daughter Austyn, so that’s kind of the fun times that we have. What’s your favorite childhood memory? Sadler: I think honestly my favorite childhood memory is the day I killed my first deer with my dad watching. I was 8 years old, I killed my first deer and my dad was there to be a part of it and I got to share it with him. That was probably one of the coolest things that ever happened to me. What makes you happy in life? Sadler: Well, my family makes me happy more than anything. That’s definitely No. 1. But No. 2, I’m a competitive dude, man. That’s what makes me tick. If we’re hunting or playing softball or I’m playing golf or we’re playing cards or we’re racing, whatever I’m doing I’m very competitive. That’s what makes me tick as a person, that’s what I get the most joy out of is being competitive in whatever we’re doing. When did you know you wanted to race? Sadler: I started racing go-karts when I was 7 and just really fell in love with it – with the speed and the competitive nature of it – and just had a ball doing it. I caught my break in maybe 1994 or 1995 and was like, “Wow, maybe I can do this for a living.” I remember the first time I actually got a paycheck for racing, that was pretty cool, man. It was different.

Elliott Sadler at a Glance FAVORITE MOVIE

■ Wedding Crashers FAVORITE SONG

■ “Can’t You See” – The Marshall Tucker Band FAVORITE FOOD

■ Steak

FAVORITE VACATION SPOT

■ Nags Head

FAVORITE MUSIC

■ All types, especially country FAVORITE DRINK

■ Coca-Cola

FAVORITE SEASON

■ Winter

FAVORITE ANIMAL

■ Dog

MOST TREASURED MATERIAL POSSESSION

■ Two old shotguns my late granddad left me

WHAT ONE THING I’D CHANGE ABOUT THE WORLD

■ Taxes

BY JARED TURNER

FREERACEMAG.COM

green flag Fans Win with Relationship Between Walmart and NASCAR RACE TIME IS BACK FOR 2012!

UPCOMING FAN EVENTS AT WALMART STORES TEXAS

Tues., April 10 Tues., April 10 Wed., April 11 Wed., April 11 Thurs., April 12 Thurs., April 12 Fri., April 13 Fri., April 13

almart and NASCAR have once again teamed up to give race fans new NASCAR branded merchandise and special savings on tickets for select races nationwide. The retail program, branded “Race Time,” is the largest retail promotion in NASCAR’s history and was launched last year. This year, it has been expanded to more than triple the companies offering authentic merchandise, double the number of fan events in race markets and increased the number of tracks where Walmart is offering the Walmart Family Track Pack. Walmart customers and NASCAR fans can save money by purchasing a “Walmart Family Track Pack,” discounted ticket packages available exclusively through Walmart.com/NASCAR for select NASCAR Sprint Cup Series races. Ticket packages include four race tickets, four hot dogs, four soft drinks and one race program for just $99, a savings of more than $100, while supplies last. Tickets are available at Ticketmaster kiosks in select markets. Special NASCAR fan events, featuring stock car displays, racing simulators and driver appearances, are also planned at select Walmart stores in each race market. In celebration of its 50th anniversary, Walmart will sponsor racing legend Bill Elliott in the Walmart No. 50 car at the Coke Zero 400 at Daytona on July 7. Elliott will also appear at select Walmart stores before race day, along with his show car. “We want to bring affordability and accessibility to NASCAR fans,” said Rand Waddoups, Senior Director, Entertainment Properties and Brands, Walmart. “We’ve offered authentic NASCAR merchandise in our stores for years, and we’re excited to expand our offerings and provide great Race Time experiences in stores and at the track.”

POLE POSITION // 2012

KANSAS

Wed., April 18 Wed., April 18 Thurs., April 19 Thurs., April 19 Fri., April 20 Fri., April 20 Sat., April 21 Sat., April 21

RICHMOND Tues., April 24 Tues., April 24 Wed., April 25 Wed., April 25 Thurs., April 26 Thurs., April 26 Fri., April 27 Fri., April 27

TALLADEGA Thurs., May 03 Thurs., May 03 Fri., May 04 Fri., May 04 Sat., May 05 Sat., May 05

10:00am - 4:00pm 11:30am - 5:30pm 10:00am - 4:00pm 11:30am - 5:30pm 10:00am - 4:00pm 11:30am - 5:30pm 10:00am - 4:00pm 11:30am - 5:30pm

801 W. Main St. 1515 S Loop 288 4101 Highway 121 1601 W. State Hwy 114 1732 Precinct Line Rd. 1401 North Saginaw Blvd. 1228 North Highway 377 8520 N. Beach St.

Lewisville, Texas Denton, Texas Bedford, Texas Grapevine, Texas Hurst, Texas Saginaw, Texas Roanoke, Texas Fort Worth, Texas

10:00am - 4:00pm 11:30am - 5:30pm 10:00am - 4:00pm 11:30am - 5:30pm 10:00am - 4:00pm 11:30am - 5:30pm 10:00am - 4:00pm 11:30am - 5:30pm

8301 North Church Rd. 8551 North Boardwalk Ave. 395 North K-7 Hwy. 13600 South Alden St. 5000 10th Ave. 16199 West 65th St. 10824 Parallel Pkwy. 12801 Kansas Ave.

Kansas City, Mo. Kansas City, Mo. Olathe, Kan. Olathe, Kan. Leavenworth, Kan. Shawnee, Kan. Kansas City, Kan. Kansas City, Kan.

10:00am - 4:00pm 11:30am - 5:30pm 10:00am - 4:00pm 11:30am - 5:30pm 10:00am - 4:00pm 11:30am - 5:30pm 10:00am - 4:00pm 11:30am - 5:30pm

671 Southpark Blvd. 12000 Iron Bridge Rd. 145 Hill Carter Pkwy. 11400 West Broad St. 12200 Chattanooga Plaza 2410 Sheila Ln. 7430 Bell Creek Rd. 7901 Brook Rd.

Colonial Heights, Va. Chester, Va. Ashland, Va. Glen Allen, Va. Midlothian, Va. Richmond, Va. Mechanicsville, Va. Richmond, Va.

10:00am - 4:00pm 11:30am - 5:30pm 10:00am - 4:00pm 11:30am - 5:30pm 10:00am - 4:00pm 11:30am - 5:30pm

214 Haynes St. 92 Plaza Ln. 8551 Whitfield Ave. 165 Vaughan Ln. 92 Plaza Ln. 165 Vaughan Ln.

Talladega, Ala. Oxford, Ala. Leeds, Ala. Pell City, Ala. Oxford, Ala. Pell City, Ala.

1040 Chesterfield Highway 2014 South Irby Street 900 US 52 Highway 1150 South 4th Street 230 North Beltline Drive

Cheraw, S.C. Florence, S.C. Lake City, S.C. Hartsville, S.C. Florence, S.C.

DARLINGTON Wed., May 09 Wed., May 09 Thurs., May 10 Thurs., May 10 Fri., May 11

10:00am - 4:00pm 11:30am - 5:30pm 10:00am - 4:00pm 1:00pm - 7:00pm 10:00am - 4:00pm

CHARLOTTE – ALL-STAR WEEKEND Tues., May 15 Tues., May 15 Wed., May 16 Wed., May 16 Thurs., May 17 Thurs., May 17 Fri., May 18 Fri., May 18

CHARLOTTE Wed., May 23 Wed., May 23 Thurs., May 24 Thurs., May 24 Fri., May 25 Fri., May 25 Sat., May 26 Sat., May 26

10:00am - 4:00pm 11:30am - 5:30pm 10:00am - 4:00pm 11:30am - 5:30pm 10:00am - 4:00pm 11:30am - 5:30pm 10:00am - 4:00pm 11:30am - 5:30pm

169 Norman Station Blvd 7131 Highway #73 2420 Supercenter Dr. NE 323 South Arlington St 7735 North Tryon St. 150 Concord Commons 5825 Thunder Rd. NW 150 Concord Commons

Mooresville, N.C. Denver, N.C. Kannapolis, N.C. Salisbury, N.C. Charlotte, N.C. Concord, N.C. Concord, N.C. Concord, N.C.

10:00am - 4:00pm 11:30am - 5:30pm 10:00am - 4:00pm 11:30am - 5:30pm 10:00am - 4:00pm 11:30am - 5:30pm 10:00am - 4:00pm 11:30am - 5:30pm

169 Norman Station Blvd 7131 Highway #73 2420 Supercenter Dr. NE 323 South Arlington St 7735 North Tryon St. 150 Concord Commons 5825 Thunder Rd. NW 150 Concord Commons

Mooresville, N.C. Denver, N.C. Kannapolis, N.C. Salisbury, N.C. Charlotte, N.C. Concord, N.C. Concord, N.C. Concord, N.C.

■ All dates and locations are subject to change.

Racin’ Recipe BUSH’S® FRENCH GRILLED STEAK

ecipe created for BUSH’S® Grillin’ Beans® exclusively by Chef Jeffrey Saad, grilling expert, television host of numerous food- and cooking-related shows and author of the new cookbook, Jeffrey Saad's Global Kitchen: Recipes Without Borders. ■ Servings: 4 to 6 ■ Preparation Time: 25 minutes ■ Cooking Time: 8 to 12 minutes

DIRECTIONS FOR SAUCE: Heat oil in large skillet over medium-high heat until hot, about 3 minutes. Add shallots and garlic. Stir occasionally until golden brown. Add beef broth, bring to boil and cook until half of the liquid is dissolved, about 5-10 minutes. Set mixture aside to cool for 10 minutes. In blender or food processor, puree mixture with tarragon leaves, mustard and salt. Set aside in small bowl.

DIRECTIONS FOR STEAKS: Bring steaks to room temperature for no longer than 30 minutes. Season with salt and pepper. Set clean, well-oiled grill to medium-high heat. When grill is hot, using tongs, place steaks on grill and cook with grill lid open. Cook until marked and browned on both sides, about 3-5 minutes per side or until desired doneness, to internal temperature

of at least 145 degrees F. To create a thick crust, cook first side of steak for an additional 1-2 minutes before ﬂipping. Remove steak from grill, place on serving platter and let rest for 10-15 minutes. With a spoon, add an equal layer of sauce over the top of each steak. Serve with BUSH’S Steakhouse Recipe Grillin’ Beans.

4 5

INGREDIENTS: ■ 1 can (22 ounces) BUSH’S®

Steakhouse Recipe Grillin’ Beans®

FOR SAUCE: 2 tablespoons olive oil ½ cup shallots, chopped 3 cloves garlic 1 cup beef broth ¼ cup fresh tarragon leaves, packed 1 teaspoon Dijon mustard ½ teaspoon kosher salt

■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■

B:8.625” T:8.375” S:7.875”

FOR STEAKS:

■ 4 6-8 ounces each rib eye, New York

strip or steak of choice

■ Salt and pepper

GENTLEMEN, START YOUR APPETITES! Root for Bobby Labonte, driver of the #47 Bush’s Beans-sponsored car. ®

©2012 Bush Brothers & Company. JTG Daugherty Racing,™ Bobby Labonte name and/or likeness and race team, race car and car number used by authority of JTG Racing, Inc. TOYOTA AND ALL ASSOCIATED MARKS, EMBLEMS AND DESIGNS ARE THE INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY RIGHTS OF TOYOTA MOTOR CORPORATION AND USED WITH PERMISSION.

FREERACEMAG.COM

presented by

food & fun at the track Hitting The Jackpot

LOTTERY WINNER AND NEW TEAM OWNER LOVES A GOOD TAILGATE

ot surprisingly, Joe Denette’s life changed dramatically upon winning the $75.6 million Virginia Mega Millions lottery on May 1, 2009. Denette, who had been laid off from his job just four months prior, transformed overnight from a guy looking for work to a guy who would never have to work again. Yet for all that changed in Denette’s world thanks to one six-number winning lottery ticket – he started a NASCAR Camping World Truck Series team, Joe Denette Motorsports, and bought a new house and several vehicles – the lifelong NASCAR fan has remained very much a “Regular Joe.” And it shows through his passion for tailgating at NASCAR events. Denette, a native of Fredericksburg, Va., figures he’s participated in between 40 and 50 tailgates since tailgating for the first time in the mid-1990s at the old North Wilkesboro Speedway that last hosted the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series in 1996. Now with money to burn and a secondyear NASCAR Camping World Truck Series organization to manage, Denette still takes time to tailgate with friends at the track, doing so most recently at Martinsville Speedway last fall. “It’s one big family having like a block party,” said Denette, 49, who owns the trucks driven by four-time series champion

Ron Hornaday and rookie driver Max Gresham. “If you’re walking around you’ll walk by somebody that’s like, ‘Hey, you want a cold beer? Sit down, let’s talk.’ They could be wearing the [No.] 24 gear; I could be wearing my Bill Elliott gear.

Tailgating is having a good old time going to the race. We can sit right next to each other during the race and pull for different people and have a good time. It’s not like a lot of your professional sports where you’re arguing back and forth.” Since that initial tailgating experience at North Wilkesboro, Denette has tailgated at Bristol, Martinsville, Richmond, Dover and Charlotte. “Charlotte, the All-Star weekend, used to be one of my favorite weekends. It’s still one of my favorite weekends because it’s night races,” he said. “At Charlotte, we get to the track at 6 or 7 o’clock in the morning, we’ll be out there and we’ll set up our grills, set everything up and we’ll even be cooking

breakfast out at the track. When you’re out in the parking lot tailgating – and this has happened to me many times – you’ll sit there and be like, ‘Aw, man. I forgot my charcoal lighter.’ Hey, the next guy right beside you, they’ve got some and they’ll gladly loan it to you. I’ve had people come up to me and say, ‘Hey, man, I’m kind of new to tailgating. Do you have any tools? I didn’t bring any to put my grill together.’ It’s, ‘OK. Here you go. Whatever you need.’” It’s that spirit of camaraderie among the fans that has made the tailgating experience so enjoyable for Denette even after becoming a millionaire. “NASCAR fans are NASCAR fans,” he said. “It’s one big family. The tailgating part is the chance to have like a reunion, just getting together having a good old time going to the race and hating life the next day.”

NASCAR Pole Position is now available on your tablet or PC Head to Zinio.com or download the app on your device for more information. NASCAR® is a registered trademark of the National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing, Inc.

POLE POSITION // 2012

BY JARED TURNER

Heart of a winner.

Honda portable generators provide hours of quiet, reliable, fuel-efficient power. Whether it’s for working outside, home backup or tailgating, with Honda, everybody wins. Official Generator Of

gen.honda.com

Please read the owner’s manual before operating your Honda Power Equipment and never use in a closed or partly enclosed area where you could be exposed to carbon monoxide. Connection of a generator to house power requires a transfer device to avoid possible injury to power company personnel. Consult a qualified electrician. ©2012 American Honda Motor Co., Inc.

tailgating presented by

TAILGATING CHEAT SHEET RICHMOND INTERNATIONAL RACEWAY RACE WEEKEND TAILGATE DATES

April 26-28 | Sept. 7-8

AVERAGE WEATHER CONDITIONS ■■ APRIL – Low to mid 70s during the day, high 50s in the evenings ■■ SEPTEMBER – Low to mid 80s during the day, mid 60s in the evenings

CHARLOTTE MOTOR SPEEDWAY RACE WEEKEND TAILGATE DATES

May 18-19 | May 24-27 | Oct. 10-13

AVERAGE WEATHER CONDITIONS ■■ MAY – Warm, high 70s ■■ OCTOBER – Mild, high 60s during day, low 50s at night WHY TAILGATE HERE “The race-day excitement for our fans begins before they even enter the gates. We offer oneof-a-kind fun in an affordable and family-friendly atmosphere that allows all of our fans to have a great time and make lasting memories while they’re tailgating here for our NASCAR races.” – Marcus Smith, track president and GM Acreage Available for Tailgating: 300plus acres of parking available, plus hundreds of acres of camping area. Description of Tailgate Environment: CMS offers the ultimate tailgating experience to suit every race fan’s need – whether fans want to camp and hang out for the entire race weekend or come for the day and take advantage of the speedway’s free tailgating areas. Unique Tailgating Feature: A tailgating zone reserved for all of the “professional” tailgaters. The zone includes large, reserved spaces that are able to accommodate even the biggest tailgating extravaganza. 20

POLE POSITION // 2012

WHY TAILGATE HERE “Richmond International Raceway is all about making lasting memories and what better way to make memories than to come out and enjoy a day tailgating with family and friends before the race. We have fans that come early in the morning and enjoy breakfast, lunch and dinner together. It’s a great atmosphere in our parking lots!” – Dennis Bickmeier, RIR president Acreage Available for Tailgating: 550 Description of Tailgate Environment: Home to one of the best tailgating scenes in NASCAR, RIR encourages fans to arrive early, avoid traffic, park in free parking lots and take advantage of the extra time to tailgate. Unique Tailgating Feature: Group Tailgate Lots open at 7 a.m. and provide a reserved spot for groups, space for cars, pop-up tents, tables, chairs, grills, games, easy entry and exit through Gate 2 and portable restroom access.

DARLINGTON RACEWAY RACE WEEKEND TAILGATE DATES

May 11-12

AVERAGE WEATHER CONDITIONS ■■ MAY – Sunny, high 70s, low 80s WHY TAILGATE HERE “Tailgating at Darlington is an experience like none other. Our new tailgate lot is easy to access and provides ample room for fans to have a great time with friends and family when they visit Darlington.” – Chris Browning, Darlington president Acreage Available for Tailgating: Tailgating in all parking lots is permitted totaling more than 100-plus acres. A specific tailgate lot is available by purchasing the track’s tailgate package. Description of Tailgate Environment: Darlington Raceway’s group tailgate lot is a new and exciting option for 2012. For $300, fans get a 25-by-40 reserved space, two parking passes and space for pop-up tents, tables, chairs, grills and games. The package can accommodate up to 30 people. Easy entry and portable restroom access is also included. Unique Tailgating Feature: The new tailgating package gives fans the opportunity to hang out with their friends and family in a unique setting at one of NASCAR’s most historic venues.

TALLADEGA SUPERSPEEDWAY RACE WEEKEND TAILGATE DATES

May 4-6 | Oct. 5-7

AVERAGE WEATHER CONDITIONS ■■ MAY – High 82, Low 55 ■■ OCTOBER – High 76, Low 48 WHY TAILGATE HERE “Talladega Superspeedway is known for the most competitive racing in NASCAR, but a race weekend at ’Dega is so much more than that. The unique social atmosphere with nearly 40,000 people camping and tailgating has to be experienced to be believed. That’s why we say, ‘This is more than a race, this is Talladega!’” – Andrew Smith, Talladega senior manager of PR Acreage Available for Tailgating: 400-plus Description of Tailgate Environment: Busy and festive. Unique Tailgating Feature: Nothing compares to the excitement of tailgating in the infield at Talladega. It’s like Mardi Gras at a NASCAR event.

KANSAS SPEEDWAY RACE WEEKEND TAILGATE DATES

April 20-22 | Oct. 19-21

AVERAGE WEATHER CONDITIONS ■■ APRIL – Mid to upper 60s ■■ OCTOBER – Mid to upper 60s

TEXAS MOTOR SPEEDWAY RACE WEEKEND TAILGATE DATES

April 12-14 | Nov. 1-4

AVERAGE WEATHER CONDITIONS ■■ APRIL – 70s ■■ NOVEMBER – 50 and 60s, but weather does vary to include 80-degree days WHY TAILGATE HERE “Texas Motor Speedway is the ideal place for tailgating because of the variety we offer fans, ranging from the unique Pit Stop Park – the ultimate tailgating area in all of motorsports – to Burnout Alley and everything in between.” – Mike Zizzo, VP of Media Relations

Acreage Available for Tailgating: 1,500 with more than 7,800 camping spots; 660 total acres for parking, where fans typically tailgate. Description of Tailgate Environment: Festive. Considering the variety of areas, the mood varies from mellow in the familyonly camping area to more festive in the infield camping area. Unique Tailgating Feature: Pit Stop Park, which features up to 76 reserved tailgating spots, a common area for fans and amenities including horseshoe pits, picnic tables and on-site food concierge service; and Burnout Alley, home to 52 luxury motor home sites and featuring full-service water hookups and live race feeds.

WHY TAILGATE HERE “Kansas Speedway offers the perfect place to tailgate and you don’t even have to bring a grill. Located amongst many restaurants and already-prepared food places, Kansas Speedway offers tailgating for those that don’t want to grill. With the wide open spaces, fans that want to grill have a lot of options.” – Kansas Speedway president Patrick Warren Acreage Available for Tailgating: 1,000 acres Description of Tailgate Environment: Plenty of wide open spaces to create the perfect tailgating experience. Unique Tailgating Feature: Lots of Kansas City Chiefs, Royals, Kansas Jayhawks, Missouri Tigers, and even Nebraska Cornhuskers gear mixed in with all the NASCAR gear on the same fans. FREERACEMAG.COM

tailgating presented by On The Menu

NASCAR TRACKS FEATURE UNIQUE CONCESSION ITEMS

■■ ‘Dega Dogs on the grill and on the table ■■ Mac Daddy Dog

ood and beverages are as important to the NASCAR experience as the racing. Therefore, race track personnel go to great lengths to offer fans an extensive variety of concession items. Naturally, there are the standards, such as cheeseburgers, French fries, hot dogs and popcorn. However, each speedway likes to showcase at least one unique item, which usually is attached to the facility’s regional roots. Here’s a look at the most unique menu offerings at the speedways hosting NASCAR’s Sprint Cup Series races during April and May. TEXAS MOTOR SPEEDWAY Texas Motor Speedway is bringing a new restaurant to its infield café this year – Fuzzy’s Taco Shop. The menu consists of Baja Mexican cuisine and offers breakfast as well as lunch and dinner. The tacos are described by track officials as “exceptional” and the burritos as “great.” Of course, beef and chicken tacos are available in either soft or crispy, but there’s also a choice for those who prefer seafood. Either grilled or tempura fish or shrimp tacos may be purchased. The tacos are topped with lettuce, tomatoes, shredded cheese, cilantro, feta and garlic sauce. These same items are available in a jumbo burrito as well. A taco plate meal consisting of two tacos with two side dishes – mix-Mex fried rice, Latin fried potatoes or refried beans – is also available. And, yes, margaritas may be purchased. CHARLOTTE MOTOR SPEEDWAY It’s no secret Southerners like fried food so in keeping with those taste buds, Charlotte Motor Speedway offers a new deep-fried creation each year. In 2010, it was the Mac Daddy Dog, a hot dog encased in macaroni pasta and pimento cheese, then coated in a panko bread crumb crust and deep fried. Last year, it was the funnel bacakonator. That’s a funnel cake covered in bacon pieces and strawberry and chocolate sauces. This year, the deep-fried cupcake will make its debut. The mini cupcake will be offered in chocolate and vanilla, deep fried

POLE POSITION // 2012

BY DEB WILLIAMS

and served on a stick. “The cake itself is a little soft with a crunchiness to it,” said Kevin Hill, director of operations at Levy Restaurants, which created the newest deep-fried concoction. “The icing is melted a little. It’s delicious.” In previous years, the speedway has offered deep-fried butter, peanut-butter and jelly sandwiches and peaches. TALLADEGA SUPERSPEEDWAY Fans and media members always talk about how big the 2.66-mile Talladega Superspeedway is, so it seems only fitting for the track to key in on the term when it comes to its specialty cuisine. Known as the ’Dega Dog, it’s a one-third pound dog covered with a “special speedway sauce.” Developed by Americrown, the track’s concessionaire, the ’Dega Dog made its debut in April 2009 and has been a favorite ever since. KANSAS SPEEDWAY When it comes to food in Kansas City, barbecue is at the top of everyone’s list. It’s no different at Kansas Speedway, which provides plenty of the delicacy for the barbecue lover. There’s an all-beef hot dog wrapped in bacon, grilled to perfection and then topped with barbecue and cole slaw on a hot dog bun. Prefer ham? Then select the thinly sliced pit smoked ham that’s piled high on white bread and served with baked beans and pickles. Of course, there’s also a sliced brisket

sandwich, a third rack baby back rib platter and a half BBQ chicken platter. The platters come with baked beans and corn on the cob. The sliced brisket is piled high on a Kaiser roll and served with baked beans and pickles. RICHMOND INTERNATIONAL RACEWAY Richmond International Raceway is a special place for hot dog lovers. This year, the Richmond Raceway Dog has been revamped and is now a hot dog topped with spicy mustard, chili and bacon bits. If you want something a little different, there’s a half-pound Angus Dog, along with several other different flavored sausages, served at the Dog House in Turn 4. A onethird pound all-beef hot dog known as The Boss Dog is available in several locations. If you don’t want a dog, salads, fruit cups and deli sandwiches are available at the Grab & Go stand beside Gate 80. DARLINGTON RACEWAY In the South, bologna is considered a staple and Darlington Raceway provides its fans with the food they crave. Bologna can be served numerous ways, but more commonly it’s found in a sandwich or at breakfast with scrambled eggs and grits. If it’s found in a lunch bag, it may be uncooked, seasoned with mustard and possibly accompanied with lettuce. However, if it’s fried, a bologna sandwich can be topped with anything from egg to onions. And a fried bologna sandwich is the way you’ll find it at Darlington.

NASCAR.COM

NOT EVERY OUT-OF-BOUNDS LINE IS MEANT TO BE CROSSED.

EVERYTHING ELSE IS JUST A GAME

Â©NASCAR 2012

STRAIGHT TO THEPOINT AFTER NEARLY WINNING IT ALL IN 2011, CARL EDWARDS REFOCUSES ON TITLE QUEST

or the second time in his nine-year NASCAR Sprint Cup Series career, Carl Edwards finished second in the points

championship after a hard-fought battle that spanned the entire 36-race season. Actually, Edwards came so close in the final race of 2011 at Homestead-Miami Speedway that it was hard to believe the coveted title slipped away. It ended up being the closest championship battle in NASCAR history. Tony Stewart was Edwards’ closest rival during 10-race Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup. As Stewart crossed under his fifth checkered flag of the season at Homestead, the two drivers had miraculously tied at the top of the standings with 2,043 points each. Stewart had five wins – all coming in the 10-race Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup – to Edwards’ one, which came March 6 at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. The number of victories was the tiebreaker and Edwards immediately knew his fate.

POLE POSITION // 2012

BY BEN WHITE

“That’s all I could do. I drove the car as hard as I could,” Edwards said after climbing from the No. 99 Roush Fenway Racing Ford. “I couldn’t drive it any harder. I gave it my best performance. “Tony beat us fair and square. He and his team did a good job with strategy throughout the race. I did all I could do. “I hold my head up. I told my wife that if I lost I would go out as the best loser NASCAR has ever had,” Edwards added. “So I’m going to try really hard to keep my head up and know that we’ll just go next year and we’ll be just as hard to beat.” After careful thought during the holidays and the brief offseason, Edwards and his team went over everything concerning their 2011 performance, right down to the last detail. They fielded excellent cars with engines built by Doug Yates, one of the best engine builders in the business. Their pit strategies throughout the year were strong. Edwards believes his cars were state-of-the-art machines built by the very best and with some of the most talented engineers. Crew chief Bob Osborne fit Edwards and his driving style like a glove. The chemistry between them was the envy of the garage area. So could Edwards and his team have done anything to change the outcome of last season? “We sat down and we had a meeting,” Edwards explained. “We all sat there and it was Jack [Roush, team owner], Robbie [Reiser], [Osborne] and me, and the first thing Jack asked was that same question. And I started to kind of think and Bob said, ‘Hey, no.

If we started that Chase again right now, we’d do the same thing. We’d put our effort in the same places and I wouldn’t change a thing.’” Closer reflection did produce races where issues surfaced, but the team still managed to squeak out some respectable finishes. However, championship points were lost. “As we sat there and talked about it, there were some races, Martinsville and Kansas in particular, where we were truly running somewhere in the high 20s or low 30s,” Edwards recalled. “We were running laps down and we were able to come back those days and finish ninth at Martinsville and fifth at Kansas. “I know that doesn’t seem as exciting as a victory, but on those days I was more proud of those guys and our ability to gather up points. Those two days themselves were probably 40 points we didn’t really deserve, so at the end of the championship, when you look at it, we tied a guy who won half of the races, and I venture to say that if we would have been able to win half of those races, we’d have just dominated that thing.” Edwards and his team have made no changes for 2012. He believes none were necessary. More wins and stronger week-toweek consistency will help improve his 2011 record of 19 top-five and 26 top-10 finishes.

A quick look at the overall statistics provides evidence of where Edwards lost important ground. Two 37th-place finishes at Pocono and Daytona in June and July and a 36th at Michigan in August deeply hurt his title hopes. A total of 109 points were lost in those races. As the native of Columbia, Mo., looks back amid a new season, he chooses to dwell on the positives. He and his Roush Fenway Racing crew have no intention of letting anyone steal the championship this year. “In the end, it ended up a tie and that’s it,” Edwards said. “I don’t know how else to look at it. Another simple way to put it is we didn’t lose it. We didn’t go out there and do anything wrong. We went out and raced hard and raced well and they came and they beat us. “We need to get into the win column more in 2012. And we need to win throughout the season, not just in the Chase. I’m extremely proud of the guys who are around me. They worked very hard last season toward getting the championship and just fell unbelievably short. We all know what is needed in 2012 and we will pick up just where we left off last season. There’s no reason why we can’t race hard just like we did in 2011. Except this year, not lose points and keep as many as possible.”

NUMBERS GAME Many of NASCAR’s Top Drivers Have Fallen Just Short of Winning the Championship

n the 64-year history of NASCAR, no championship battle has been closer than the one between Tony Stewart and Carl Edwards in 2011. The two drivers ended the 36-race NASCAR Sprint Cup Series season tied with 2,043 points and Stewart claimed the title based on his five victories to Edwards’ one during the season. But on five other occasions, close championship battles also kept NASCAR in the headlines as the leaves changed color. In 2004, Kurt Busch, driving a Ford for team owner Jack Roush, beat Jimmie Johnson for the championship by just eight points. This was the first year for the new Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup format and the close finish changed many opinions of the unique concept. Alan Kulwicki drove his own Ford to the championship in 1992, besting Bill Elliott by 10 points. Kulwicki claimed the title by leading one lap more than Elliott in the season finale at Atlanta Motor Speedway, giving him a five-point bonus for leading the most laps. In 1979, Richard Petty drove his No. 43 Petty Enterprises Oldsmobile to an 11-point victory over Darrell Waltrip in the championship battle. It was Petty’s seventh career championship. Rusty Wallace, driving Pontiacs owned by drag racer Raymond Beadle, beat Dale Earnhardt for the title by just 12 points in 1989. It ended up being Wallace’s only NASCAR Sprint Cup Series championship. Jeff Gordon, driving the No. 24 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet, won his second of four NASCAR Sprint Cup Series championships in 1997, beating Dale Jarrett by 14 points. Other close championship battles saw Earnhardt beat Cale Yarborough by 19 points in 1980; Elliott edge Wallace by 24 in 1988; Earnhardt beat Martin by 26 in 1990; and Gordon top Earnhardt by 34 in 1995.

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Y P Y DA

Kevin Harvick Puts Family Ahead of Racing while Searching for First NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Championship

evin Harvick is smiling quite a bit more this year. He’s calm, quick to tell a joke and more relaxed when talking with the media. Today’s Kevin Harvick is considerably different from the one that often let a hot temper get the best of him in the past. The native of Bakersfield, Calif., has made some pretty big changes in his life over the past six months and those around him are still trying to figure out this new version of the longtime race car driver. During the NASCAR Sprint Media Tour hosted by Charlotte Motor Speedway in January, Harvick announced he and his

POLE POSITION // 2012

BY BEN WHITE

wife, DeLana, are expecting their first child this summer. “Having a baby boy sort of steamrolled everything to where we are now,” Harvick said. “As far as racing goes, winning the [NASCAR] Sprint Cup championship is the No. 1 goal for 2012. We’ll be focusing on that for sure. As far as owning the teams, we felt like we couldn’t have them and still be good parents. So, we decided being a parent was more important and we had to make a decision.” Yes, it’s true that having children changes everything and immediately after receiving the news, the Harvicks decided big changes had to be made. Their exhausting schedule

needed to be reduced drastically, especially since driving the No. 29 Budweiser Chevrolet for Richard Childress Racing already requires such a huge weekly commitment. Kevin Harvick Inc., the winning organization the Harvicks built from the ground up over the past decade, featured NASCAR Nationwide and NASCAR Camping World Truck Series teams that had won championships. In those divisions, the Harvicks’ cars and trucks were considered the premier machines other drivers wanted to beat. After some very careful thought, the Harvicks closed KHI last fall and moved personnel and equipment to Richard Childress’ complex in Welcome, N.C. Fans and the media were questioning Harvick’s decision, looking for a much deeper story. But there really wasn’t one, other than the need to concentrate on their new mission of starting a family. “There are a lot of factors that went into a lot of the decisions that were made,” Harvick said. “The technical inspections have become extremely difficult for a stand-alone team to not make all the things right … to make the same things right that need to be right in order to keep up with [NASCAR Sprint] Cup teams, you have to be in a [NASCAR Sprint] Cup shop. From a performance standpoint, I feel like we will be better with the [NASCAR Sprint] Cup people and technology and things in the shop. “In addition, DeLana and I will still be involved in the teams and working through a lot of processes to take the best groups of the people at RCR and KHI and put them together, and make better race teams from the [NASCAR Sprint] Cup side; from the [NASCAR] Nationwide side.” Harvick dismantled the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series team, citing business concerns and profitability as the reason for closing that part of the operation. “We have scrimped and scraped and got the sponsorship and things that you need. GM [General Motors] has been a great supporter of everything that we’ve done,” Harvick said. “But from a business standpoint, sometimes you just have to make the decisions as to what you want to do and for us it just didn’t make sense. “Still, being involved with everything at RCR will allow me to spend more time with my [NASCAR Sprint] Cup team. It takes an extreme amount of pressure off of me as

a driver and an owner. I think when you look at the personal time that we get back from DeLana and my standpoint; it’s just a tremendous amount of time. There’s way more positives to the whole thing than there are negatives and we’re really looking forward to experiencing all those things.”

“I don’t think we made mistakes,” Harvick said about the 2011 Chase. “I think if we could combine the two Chases; that would make a great Chase. We were very consistent in 2010. We were very inconsistent in 2011. We had speed in 2010, we didn’t have the speed we had in 2010 that

There are some normal things that you can do in life, too. Hopefully we can experience some of those. Harvick confirmed he wasn’t used to all the downtime the move from team ownership had given him, but he seems to have gotten used to it pretty quickly. “At first, it was hard to really understand what you were supposed to do,” Harvick said. “We have been so used to getting up in the morning and going to work. You see what problems have occurred on that particular day. You go in and try to unravel them and fix them. For us this winter was more about how to relax and take care of yourself; work on the house, go on vacation and really use the offseason as what it is meant for. Seems like the offseason has gone on forever because we have always been so busy in the past, it flew by.” Harvick can now make a full commitment toward winning the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series championship, something he has desperately wanted since joining the circuit in February 2001 following death of Dale Earnhardt. He rolled into Victory Lane at Auto Club Speedway, Martinsville Speedway, Charlotte Motor Speedway and Richmond International Raceway in 2011 and led the championship standings as the Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup began. But a 32ndplace finish at Talladega Superspeedway during the Chase erased the progress he and the team had made. Harvick finished a very respectable third in NASCAR Sprint Cup points in 2011, just as he had done in 2010. But there’s room for improvement and to that end, Childress named Shane Wilson to be Harvick’s new crew chief in hopes of finding that missing piece of the championship puzzle.

we had in 2011. I think you need a combination of those two things.” With new priorities in Harvick’s life, he has emerged as a favorite to unseat Tony Stewart as the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series champion. The 2012 season may bring the best success of his career. “Well, when you look at it, just from a driver’s standpoint, I am going to run more [NASCAR] Nationwide races, as we move forward, than I did [last] year, so we will still do that,” Harvick said. “On the [NASCAR Sprint] Cup side, you are still going to have to do 80 or 90 appearances a year, and you are still going to have to do the things that come with just being a driver and doing the normal things that go with that. …There are some normal things that you can do in life too, I hear. Hopefully we can experience some of that.”

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DUKING IT OUT

Pushing The Envelope

EDDIE GOSSAGE WORKS HARD TO MAKE TEXAS TRACK ‘STAND OUT’

ASCAR race weekends are ﬁlled with carnival-like sights, sounds and happenings that keep race fans constantly entertained. Numerous sponsorrelated booths feature giveaways while driver autograph sessions and games fill the midways just outside the track’s turnstiles. Once at the track, the exciting theme-park atmosphere continues when 43 drivers push their cars to the edge in search of victory. But long before any of the excitement of a race weekend takes place, hundreds are working behind the scenes on a detailed plan that gives the masses a reason to attend the event. That’s where the track promoter, as they’ve been called since NASCAR began sanctioning races some six decades ago, comes into play. Enter Eddie Gossage, president of Texas Motor Speedway. Since 1980, Gossage has been the promoter, or ringmaster of sorts, at tracks such as Nashville Speedway, Bristol Motor Speedway and he’s been with Speedway Motorsports, Inc. since 1989. Often called a “showman,” Gossage has a reputation for being a bit controversial. He’s printed T-shirts admonishing the drivers to race harder, put up billboards with risky, attention-grabbing headlines and devised stunts such as frying eggs and baking pizzas on the racing surface during the hot Texas summers. Gossage, a native of Nashville, says pushing the envelope is a must, especially in the Dallas-Ft. Worth market. “Track promotion is an art and not a science because there are no absolutes about it,” Gossage said. “To me, it’s a very creative thing. What you’re trying to do is stand out,

POLE POSITION // 2012

BY BEN WHITE

attract attention and get people to come see what you have going on. “With us in this market, particularly with the Dallas Cowboys in the NFL and the Texas Rangers in professional baseball, the Dallas Mavericks in professional basketball and the AHL’s Texas Stars, it’s a tough, tough thing to do. You always try to stand out. But in the last year, we’ve won the NBA championship, had the World Series and the Super Bowl. We have had a ton of competition. “The Cowboys are here 365 days a year,” Gossage added. “The Mavericks are here 365 days a year. But you have to remember NASCAR is only here six days a year. That means NASCAR is not here 359 days a year. So I have to think of something to get us in the newspaper or get us on the news. That’s why I do some of the bizarre things that we do. It’s basically anything you can do to get you out there to the public.” At times, members of the Texas Motor Speedway public relations staff will lock themselves away in a room in search of the next great, attention-grabbing idea. Some surface through everyday conversation and nothing is completely off the table. “A lot of times, I’ve bumped into someone in a hallway and an idea is just thrown out there and it germinates,” Gossage said. “The truth is we have a fabulous staff and they do 99 percent of these ideas. Not me, I just get the credit or the blame.” At times, Gossage uses some rather crafty psychology to help generate ideas. “I do try to prod them along. For instance, they were trying to figure out something

ASCAR drivers are known for ﬁerce on-track battles that often spill over into mind games that are played out through verbal jabs in the media. Last year, Eddie Gossage decided to use that common scenario to his advantage. “We had a great idea and billed it as the epic Texas showdown,” Gossage explained. “We played off the tense point battle between Tony Stewart and Carl Edwards in boxing terms. We placed lockers in the media center for each of them and gave them boxing gloves and robes that said, ‘Smoke’ for Tony and ‘Cousin Carl’ for Carl. “As the weekend went on, Tony came in and put some Cokes and Little Debbie snack cakes in his locker and said that would be how he would train. Carl is known for his athleticism, so Tony put some Perrier and rice cakes in his locker because he thought that’s how he would train. “I also went into a Toys-R-Us and bought one of those Rock’em-Sock’em robot games and put Tony’s face on one and Carl’s on the other. As it turned out, Tony won and Carl ﬁnished second. In Victory Lane, I put the robe and gloves on Tony. It all turned out great.”

bizarre one afternoon and I just blew through the meeting and said, ‘I don’t have but a second, but I have this idea I heard about that’s going on over in Burma. It sounds crazy, but a guy told me you just can’t turn away. It just draws you in. It’s ‘Monkey Knife Fighting.’ Think about it. I’ve got to go.’ “Truth is, there’s no such thing,” Gossage said. “I left and the whole point was to get them to think of something. They came to me later and said, ‘You can’t do that in this country. But we’ll get it done. Don’t worry about it.’ “I went on the Internet and found out there’s actually a band called Monkey Knife Fight and I bought them the band’s T-shirts. I told them some promoters from Burma sent them.” Thus far, Gossage hasn’t been called to the carpet by SMI Chairman Bruton Smith, head of the company that owns Texas Motor Speedway and several other speedways across the country. “The man has never said, ‘Son, I think you went a little too far,’” Gossage noted. “He has said on occasion, ‘You didn’t go as far as I would have with that one, pal.’ If it’s a little edgy, I’ll show it to him, but not often. He trusts us.”

Covered Up

BRISTOL’S TERRY KING STAYS BUSY PAINTING WALLS AND SIGNS

hen fans enter any given track for an exciting weekend of NASCAR racing, the track surface is clean, the walls are glistening and the signs and banners are bright and colorful. It is race time and everything is immaculate. But the surroundings that look so perfect didn’t get that way without a lot of work from some very special people. Their long hours of finishing touches help make the NASCAR race experience great. Terry King is one of those unsung heroes when it comes to giving Bristol Motor Speedway its sparkle. The resident of Johnson City, Tenn., has been with the legendary track for six years and is the supervisor of the track’s paint department and sign shop. That means painting offices, suites, track walls, signs of all kinds and anything else that needs a new coat of paint. “I didn’t realize before I came here how much is done,” King said. “It’s not just for two race weekends a year. Something has to be done all throughout the year. But to work in this job, you have to have a good attitude because it’s very demanding the closer you get to race weekend. There’s always an extra job that has to be done. Sometimes it doesn’t look possible, but we get it done. “It’s a sense of pride. I love being here because Bristol Motor Speedway is an awesome place to be a part of.” At the track, King can usually be found with a paint brush or sprayer in hand, anytime day or night.

“It entails painting anything and everything at this race track from head to toe,” King said. “We have a lot of outdoor painting and striping, especially on the track. It comes first over anything else. Any kind of sunshine we have outside that’s halfway decent we get out and try to paint.” King prefers to work with paint that’s easy to manage and easy to apply. “What’s used on the walls around the track is a latex paint,” he explained. “There was an oilbased paint we used down on the track, but we eliminated it. So all the paint that is on the surface – the striping, walls, anything of that sort, is water based. “We usually go over everything with one coat, but if we have to block off an area where a sponsor has dropped out, we’ll go over it one time and then come back with a second coat to cover it up. But usually right where their logo is, there will be a logo of another sponsor that will replace it. We will usually contract with someone to come and do their logo one time and then we will take care of it from there. It’s rare that you would have one totally destroyed in a wreck, but we usually have something to go by where we can fill in the blanks, so to speak.” Months of work go into getting the track and grounds ready for race weekends, but there is still work to be done each time the checkered flag is waved. “On Saturday night after the [NASCAR] Nationwide Series race is done, we will come in and touch up all of the walls before the [NASCAR] Sprint Cup race on Sunday,” King explained. “We will come in after everything is said and done and touch up all the walls. The more wrecks we have and the more they’ve hit the wall, the more we touch up. There have been times when we have worked all through the night until 6 o’clock in the morning. Then we will go home, shower and come back to the track at 7 a.m.” Does King dread having to fix walls that get scuffed during crashes? “The wrecks don’t really bother me,” he said. “We hold

our breath so to speak from the [NASCAR] Nationwide Series race to the [NASCAR] Sprint Cup race, but if the action on the track helps to sell tickets, we have no problem going back and repainting walls or logos.” His four-man crew runs through a good bit of paint in preparation for each race weekend. “We run through several hundred gallons of paint getting ready for a race,” King noted. “At one point, we had it figured for what we used the whole year, counting the [NASCAR] Sprint Cup races and the drag races on the drag strip, and it was up in the thousands. During a race weekend, it’s not going to be in the hundreds because we’re just touching up places. But we do use that much getting ready for the races.”

GOOD WEATHER IS KEY

hen it comes to painting, there are several types on the market that require a little extra care when it comes to use, application and drying time. Kings says that part of the process is manageable. But there’s one part of the equation that’s often a mystery. “My advice to anyone painting is to watch your radar and see what the weather is going to do. That’s very important to do before you start to paint,” King said. “It’s crazy around here. It can be raining on one end of the track and not raining on the other. We watch the radar and say, ‘OK, we have a three-hour window here. The paint we use usually dries pretty quickly. “In one particular case, it started raining about an hour into what we were doing. We had a little cleanup to do because we had some places that were running down the wall, but nothing too serious. Luckily, the area we painted was close to a drain and we soaked the rest of it up. It’s just challenges like that that you have to deal with sometimes.” BY BEN WHITE

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on the road presented by

J On The Road with Jeff Craven, Driver of the No. 31 RCR Transporter

POLE POSITION // 2012

BY JARED TURNER

eff Burton drives race cars at speeds over 180 mph for up to four hours at a time. His job, no matter how you slice or dice it, is no cakewalk. But Burton, a 20-year veteran of NASCAR Sprint Cup Series garages, concedes there’s at least one member of his Richard Childress Racing team who probably has a tougher gig. That would be Jeff Craven, the man responsible for hauling Burton’s No. 31 Caterpillar Chevrolet up and down highways throughout the country to the numerous destinations on the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series calendar. “Some people disagree with me, but I think it’s the hardest job in racing,” Burton said. “All of our guys that travel get home late but when they get home, he isn’t even close. It’s got to be physically grueling to be gone from home longer than anybody else. It’s a lot of time away from home. “I don’t want to say it’s taken for granted that the cars are going to get there but when we get on an airplane and we’re thinking, ‘Wow, man, we’ve got a three-hour flight,’ he had a 17-hour drive. And then he goes home and maybe got to spend a couple

days at home, and then he’s out again.” Craven – affectionately known as “Rooster” by friends and colleagues – actually considers maneuvering the 79,000-pound hauler to be the easiest part of his job with the No. 31 team. The tougher part is ensuring it is fully stocked with the numerous parts and pieces required for a given race weekend. While it’s almost impossible to forget to load the 3,450-pound primary and backup cars, or the 900-pound spare engine or 5,000-pound tool box, smaller items have the potential to fall through the cracks. “To me the hardest part is making sure everything is here,” said Craven, a 24-year veteran of the hauler driving trade. “I leave this shop thinking, ‘What’s inside this trailer?’ every time. The first hour down the road I’m sitting there thinking, ‘Did I load this? Did I load that?’ Even though we’ve got a list we go through every week and everything, you’ve still got that in the back of your mind.” Thankfully, the responsibility of loading the truck doesn’t fall completely on Craven. He’s just one key figure of the team behind

on the road presented by the team – that is, the folks responsible for getting the car and its supporting components where they need to be, both at the track and en route to it. “The thing that we’ve learned to do is we have the car chief and the mechanics on the road double check what’s on the truck,” said crew chief Drew Blickensderfer. “Jeff’s job is to make sure everything’s tied down on the truck, and it gets there safely. But our jobs are to make sure whatever department our underneath guy works in or our interior guy or our shock guy, make sure his stuff is on the truck so it divvies up the workload so that Monday through Thursday Jeff doesn’t have to worry about if we’ve got the right hubs on the truck, or the right brakes. The guys that work on that part of the race car take care of that.” As for exactly how many items are typically on the list from week to week, Craven can only estimate. “I don’t think I’ve ever counted it down as a personal number,” said Craven, standing inside the No. 31 hauler. “I’m going to say that we’d go over up to 50 to 60 items that we look at. Now, most of it is already on here, but we still look at it. We’ve got like a parts cart we switch out every week that comes out, and it’s got everything that goes with that car – the back-up car and the primary car. We change out the gear cart every week because the gear ratios are different at each track no matter where it’s at. And the spring cart and shock cart are the same way – everything’s different there. But everything else stays on the truck because you know it’s going to be used the same every time.” In addition to making sure all necessary parts are loaded before leaving for the track, there’s also the matter of keeping up with everything during the busy race weekend, and making sure everything is in its proper place when Craven pulls out of the track. Richard Childress Racing, which fields the NASCAR Sprint Cup entries of Burton, Kevin Harvick and Paul Menard, does a fair amount of parts sharing among the three teams – which can be beneficial, but occasionally lead to some confusion. “I think the part that people don’t really understand is there’s a rolling inventory of everything that we have to have,” Burton 32

POLE POSITION // 2012

said. “Not only is it their responsibility to get it there, it’s their responsibility to keep the inventory right, to understand what’s used out of the trailer, what’s been borrowed out of the trailer so that when you need it, it’s there. When you don’t have it, it’s a huge penalty.” One of the ways to stay organized is keeping the hauler as clean as possible through all the activities of a race weekend. Craven makes the cleanliness of the No. 31 rig a priority. “‘Rooster,’ in particular, he keeps that trailer immaculate,” Burton said. “You walk in the trailer and it’s a representation of what Richard Childress Racing and the 31

are all about. And he takes that to heart. You’ve got people that are messy and he ends up having to deal with them. “In most cases our team is really good and they respect what he does and everybody tries to help him because they see how hard he works at keeping the trailer nice and neat. And he does. You can walk in our trailer in the middle of a chaotic practice session with stuff going on, and that place is fixed up and it’s nice and everything’s organized. And that matters. “It’s more than just how something looks. It’s the functionality of it,” Burton added. “When you need something, you know what cabinet to open, you know where it’s supposed to be because it always gets put back where it’s supposed to be.” Craven arrives at the track about an

hour before fellow crew members, who come separately by plane. After parking the hauler in the infield, Craven unloads the toolbox and moves it to the No. 31 garage stall. Once the others arrive, they let the gate down on the hauler, unload the primary car from the top of the hauler and then unload all of the remaining essentials which are stocked in the bottom. The process is swift and relatively easy for the men who do it week in and week out. “At the race track we can unload everything, set up and be ready to go within about an hour, with everything in order,” Craven said. “Loading up, we can have it loaded in 30 minutes. It just depends on if everybody’s ready. Everything, of course, in NASCAR is in a hurry, it seems like. And then you’re in a hurry and then you’re waiting because you’re waiting on inspection and whatnot.” The NASCAR inspection entails a thorough examination of the engine, compression ratio and the fuel injection among other parts before the car goes through NASCAR’s templates. And then the first practice begins and it’s game on again for Craven and cohorts. Craven, who oversees rear gear inspections on the 31, and others spend the rest of the weekend fine-tuning on the car at the direction of Blickensderfer. Craven spends most of race day sleeping so he can be ready for the drive back to the Richard Childress Racing shop in Welcome, N.C. – or the next track. In instances of back-to-back West Coast races, Craven goes straight from one track to the other without returning to North Carolina. Another hauler driver transports the second race weekend’s cars to the first track in an unmarked rig, where a swap occurs the day after the race. Craven heads to the next race track with the new cars; the other driver heads back East with the ones from the past weekend. Once all is said and done, Craven is often driving quite a few more miles than Burton on a race weekend. “I drive two cars at one time. He only drives one,” Craven said with a laugh. “For me to drive 300 miles, it takes me five hours. For him to drive 300 miles, it takes him about two-and-a-half hours.”

WITH SUMMER BLOCKBUSTER SEASON APPROACHING, NASCAR POLE POSITION TAKES A LOOK AT THE TOP STRENGTH OF NASCAR SPRINT CUP SERIES DRIVERS

SUPER POWERS There was an idea to bring together a group of

amazing people

so that when we needed them, they could

compete in the races

we never could. Gentlemen,

youâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re up.

BY JARED TURNER

driver profiles: SUPER POWERS

▐ OWNER: MARGARET HAAS ▐ TEAM: STEWART-HAAS RACING▐ CAR: OFFICE DEPOT/MOBIL 1 CHEVROLET ▐ CREW CHIEF: STEVE ADDINGTON

14 tony stewart EXTREME POISE

If there was ever any doubt about Tony Stewart’s ability to excel under pressure, the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series team co-owner/driver put any such thoughts to rest in 2011. After failing to score a single victory in the 26-race “regular season,” Stewart caught fire in a big way in the Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup. Thanks to an unprecedented five wins in 10 Chase races, Stewart seemingly came out of nowhere to claim his third championship, but first in three seasons as an owner/driver. Stewart undoubtedly saved his very best for last, overcoming a three-point deficit to Carl Edwards heading into the season finale at Homestead-Miami Speedway to win the race and championship via a tiebreaker earned by virtue of scoring five victories during the season to Edwards’ one. It was the first time in NASCAR history that two drivers finished a season tied atop the points standings. Illuminating the magnitude of Stewart’s race victory at Homestead was the circumstances surrounding it: He was forced to restart at the rear of the field on two occasions after pit stops to repair early grille damage. NASCAR later determined that the driver nicknamed “Smoke” made a total of 118 passes during the 267-lap event. Fittingly, Stewart had spent the days leading up to Homestead trying to get inside the head of Edwards, the only other driver still mathematically eligible for the championship. Then come race day, Stewart promptly went out and backed up his taunts with a drive that is destined to go down as one of the greatest of all time.

POLE POSITION // 2012

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driver profiles: SUPER POWERS

driver profiles

▐ OWNER: JEFF GORDON ▐ TEAM: HENDRICK MOTORSPORTS▐ CAR: LOWE’S CHEVROLET▐ CREW CHIEF: CHAD KNAUS

48 JIMMIE JOHNSON TOTAL PACK AGE

Jimmie Johnson, simply put, is a conqueror. If given the choice of one driver they could put in their car, a lot of team owners in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series garage would unequivocally pounce on Johnson, he of a record-setting five straight championships in NASCAR’s top series from 2006 to 2010. While Johnson fell short in his bid to earn a sixth straight title in 2011, few would argue that “Five Time” isn’t one of NASCAR’s greatest drivers of all-time – with at least a good 10 years likely still in the tank. If there’s any driver who has ice running through his veins, it is Johnson. For five straight years, he and crew chief Chad Knaus performed at their very best – in the Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup – when the very most was on the line. And all five years resulted in Johnson capturing the sport’s No. 1 prize and leaving his competitors at a loss for how they could stop him. Outside of his clear talent, Johnson carries little baggage, unlike some other drivers who sometimes get on the wrong side of NASCAR. Through all his achievements, Johnson has somehow managed to ruffle few feathers along the way while maintaining a clean image (the same isn’t true of his crew chief Chad Knaus, however). He’s a driver that fans can’t find a reason to hate – other than for his amazing success.

POLE POSITION // 2012

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driver profiles: SUPER POWERS

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▐ OWNER: RICK HENDRICK ▐ TEAM:HENDRICK MOTORSPORTS ▐ CAR: DIET MOUNTAIN DEW/NATIONAL GUARD CHEVROLET ▐ CREW CHIEF: STEVE LETARTE

88 DALE EARNHARDT jr. POPUL ARIT Y UNPARALLELED

It’s no accident that Dale Earnhardt Jr., affectionately known simply as “Junior” by his legions of supporters, has been voted NASCAR’s most popular driver for nine consecutive years. Win or lose, soar or slip, Earnhardt is beloved by the masses – many of them fans of his late father, seven-time champion Dale Earnhardt, and many of them fans who didn’t like “The Intimidator” but have come to admire and respect Earnhardt for carving his own unique path in the sport. While others might have let their place as the son of arguably NASCAR’s greatest driver of all time go to their head, Earnhardt has remained humble and down to earth – at least publicly – since entering NASCAR’s top series in 2000. Once known as a bit of a party animal, the now 37-year-old driver has settled down a bit and seems more at peace with the world than he’s been in quite a while. Earnhardt, who failed to win in 2009, 2010 and 2011, has handled adversity with grace, and throughout his career has mostly shied away from the controversial bump and runs that made his father famous. He’s one of the few true Southern drivers left in the sport, as evidenced by his thick North Carolina drawl and love of the outdoors. Earnhardt, whose on-track struggles in recent years have been well documented, seems at times almost mystiﬁed as to why he’s adored by so many, and has become a virtual lock for the most popular driver award. “I don’t really know what to think about it,” Earnhardt said. “I don’t take it for granted. I don’t assume that I’m going to win it again. … It’s a great honor. I’m hoping to continue to win the award. If not, I’ll be happy and proud for whoever does.”

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driver profiles: SUPER POWERS

▐ OWNER: JACK ROUSH ▐ TEAM: ROUSH FENWAY RACING ▐ CAR: FASTENAL FORD▐ CREW CHIEF: BOB OSBORNE

99 CARL EDWARDS MR. NICE GUY

If NASCAR handed out an award to the most down-to-earth driver, Carl Edwards would be near the top of the list. Despite being one of the sport’s highest earners, Edwards projects the image of an “aw shucks” guy who could show up at your house for dinner – and then make sure to pick up his plate and utensils, and say “thank you” before leaving. A father of two small children, Edwards looks the part of a family man as well as any driver in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series garage, and his clean-cut, good-guy image has helped him become one of the sport’s most marketable drivers. So while others – even some well-known drivers with top-tier teams – have had trouble attracting sponsors over the last few years in a sluggish economy, Edwards has managed to lure enough sponsors to almost need a bigger ﬁresuit to display them all. Despite the occasional run-in with competitors – who can forget his multiple brushes with Brad Keselowski in 2009 and 2010? – Edwards is generally well-liked even by rivals. Trevor Bayne, who held off Edwards to win the 2011 Daytona 500, fondly remembers a congratulatory call from Edwards the night after winning the race. “I was like, ‘Man, Carl Edwards is calling me. This is cool,’” Bayne said. “Because at that point, I had talked to him a couple times. I go outside and answer the phone and he’s like, ‘Man, congratulations.’ … That was really cool when he did that.”

POLE POSITION // 2012

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driver profiles: SUPER POWERS

▐ OWNERS: JOE GIBBS ▐ TEAM: JOE GIBBS RACING ▐ CAR: M&M’S TOYOTA ▐ CREW CHIEF: DAVE ROGERS

18 kyle busch FIERY COMPETITOR

With more than 100 wins among NASCAR’s three national series, Kyle Busch has accomplished more on the track than most ever have, or ever will. And to think all of his first 100 wins came under the age of 27. Talk about a kid with talent. But Busch’s unquestionable abilities behind the wheel are hardly the sole reason for his immense success. His tenacity and willingness to put his car in difficult places have been just as pivotal to his accomplishments. As much as any driver in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series, Busch is unafraid to be aggressive – even if it means putting his car and finishing position in jeopardy. Busch has never shied away from using his front bumper to move another driver out of the way, and has even used it in moments when it risked widespread outrage (Remember Busch’s collision with Dale Earnhardt Jr. at Richmond in May 2008?) from other drivers and their fans. Busch has also never been reluctant to speak his mind about other drivers and teams – sometimes to the detriment of his own success. Busch’s fiery personality has earned him tons of supporters and haters alike, but has moreover made him one of the sport’s most high-profile drivers. While Busch’s passion for winning has been one of his biggest strengths, his emotions have at times been his biggest enemy. One such occasion played out in the fall 2011 NASCAR Camping World Truck Series race at Texas Motor Speedway where Busch, upset after being hit by Ron Hornaday, retaliated by turning Hornaday’s truck head-on into the wall under caution. The result was a rare weekend-long suspension for Busch. 42

POLE POSITION // 2012

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driver profiles: SUPER POWERS

▐ OWNER: ROGER PENSKE ▐ TEAM: PENSKE RACING ▐ CAR: MILLER LITE DOGE ▐ CREW CHIEF: PAUL WOLFE

2 Brad Keselowski NO FEAR

When JR Motorsports hired unheralded Brad Keselowski to drive its NASCAR Nationwide Series cars midway through 2007, the then-23-year-old driver was a virtual unknown in NASCAR garages. These days, everyone knows Keselowski – and it all started with one single act of fearlessness. The date was April 26, 2009, and the place was Talladega Superspeedway. Keselowski, then a full-time NASCAR Nationwide Series driver, was making just his fifth NASCAR Sprint Cup Series start. Driving for the underfunded, single-car Phoenix Racing organization, Keselowski found himself running second to leader Carl Edwards coming into the tri-oval on the last lap. What happened next made Keselowski an overnight sensation. With the checkered flag in sight, the Michigan native dove to the inside of Edwards and sent Edwards’ car airborne after Edwards moved down to block. Keselowski, who could have just lifted and finished second, scored one of the biggest upsets in NASCAR history. And he’s been scoring ever since. Now in his third full-time NASCAR Sprint Cup season at Penske Racing, Keselowski is regarded as one of the sport’s most promising stars. His breakout year came in 2011 when he made the Chase and scored three race victories, the most notable coming in the August event at Pocono Raceway where he pushed through immense pain and went to Victory Lane just four days after breaking his ankle in a test at Road Atlanta. Along the way, Keselowski hasn’t shied away from tussles with some of the sport’s more experienced big-name drivers including Denny Hamlin, Carl Edwards and Kyle Busch. 44

POLE POSITION // 2012

▐ OWNER: RICK HENDRICK ▐ TEAM: HENDRICK MOTORSPORTS ▐ CAR: FARMERS INSURANCE CHEVROLET ▐ CREW CHIEF: KENNY FRANCIS

5 KASEY KAhNE COOL DUDE

Kasey Kahne, in the eyes of many NASCAR fans of both genders, is simply one cool customer. For the vast majority of female fans, he’s a pure heartthrob. Soft-spoken with blue eyes and rosy red cheeks that make the ladies squeal, Kahne is one of NASCAR’s most marketable – and yes, photogenic drivers. Go to just about any race track and you’ll ﬁnd fans, especially of the female persuasion, clamoring to get an autograph or picture of Kahne as he maneuvers through the garage area. But Kahne isn’t just a sponsor and fan favorite because of his boyish good looks and the stylish clothes he wears outside the car. He can hustle a race car, too. With 12 wins in eight seasons in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series, 32-year-old Kahne has proven he can compete with the sport’s biggest names. The only question is whether he can beat them on a consistent basis. The 2012 season is no doubt his best season ever to showcase his full potential as he’s racing for one of NASCAR’s true superpower teams – Hendrick Motorsports – for the ﬁrst time. Kahne has been joined at Hendrick by Kenny Francis, the crew chief responsible for his 11 wins with the team now known as Richard Petty Motorsports, and his lone victory last year with the now-disbanded Red Bull Racing organization. If Kahne can win consistently and contend for championships with Hendrick, his popularity is destined to sore all the more, and his cool factor will reach an even higher level. FREERACEMAG.COM

driver profiles: SUPER POWERS 22 ▐ OWNER: WALTER CZARNECKI ▐ TEAM: PENSKE RACING ▐ CAR:SHELL/PENNZOIL DODGE ▐ CREW CHIEF: TODD GORDON AJ allmendinger: be thrilled In his best NASCAR ride to date, Allmendinger is driving the No. 22 Shell/Pennzoil Dodge for Penske Racing. His time with Red Bull Racing and Richard Petty Motorsports has prepared the former openwheel racer for this top-ﬂight ride. Look for Allmendinger to be the surprise winner of more than one race.

9 ▐ OWNER: RICHARD PETTY ▐ TEAM: RICHARD PETTY MOTORSPORTS ▐ CAR: DEWALT ▐ CREW CHIEF: TODD PARROTT Marcos Ambrose: foreign flavor A native of Launceston, Tasmania, Australia, Marcos Ambrose brings a truly international ﬂavor to the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series. Since switching to NASCAR in 2006, Ambrose has remained a celebrity back home in Australia where he won championships in 2003 and 2004 while competing in the country’s V8 Supercar Series. He is one of the nicest guys in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series garage area.

1 6 ▐ OWNER: JACK ROUSH ▐ TEAM: ROUSH FENWAY RACING ▐ CAR: 3M FORD ▐ CREW CHIEF: MATT PUCCIA Greg Biffle: QUICK LEARNER Greg Biffle, of Vancouver, Wash., needed just three seasons to become a champion in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series (2000). In 2001, Biffle finished fourth as a rookie in the NASCAR Nationwide Series before claiming that series’ title the following season. Biffle joined Roush Fenway Racing’s NASCAR Sprint Cup program in 2003 and by 2005 had won nine races and finished second in the standings.

15 ▐ OWNER: MICHAEL WALTRIP ▐ TEAM: MICHAEL WALTRIP RACING ▐ CAR:5-HOUR ENERGY TOYOTA ▐ CREW CHIEF: BRIAN PATTIE Clint Bowyer: STEADY HAND Clint Bowyer isn’t the kind of driver who typically wows observers with daring moves or dominant performances. But he’s almost always in the mix, ready to take advantage if others falter. This happened in 2008 at Richmond International Raceway when Kyle Busch and Dale Earnhardt Jr. collided in the ﬁnal laps, allowing Bowyer to sneak through and steal his second career victory.

POLE POSITION // 2012

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driver profiles: SUPER POWERS 31

▐ OWNER: RICHARD CHILDRESS ▐ TEAM: RICHARD CHILDRESS RACING ▐ CAR: CATERPILLAR ▐ CREW CHIEF: DREW BLICKENSDERFER

Jeff Burton: DRIVER PRODIGY Nicknamed “The Mayor,” Jeff Burton has built a reputation as one of NASCAR’s most wellspoken, intellectual drivers who carries a tremendous amount of clout in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series garage. One of Burton’s greatest strengths is his ability to speak authoritatively and insightfully on a range of topics pertaining to the sport. Burton backs up his creeds by being a factor come race time.

▐ OWNER: JAMES FINCH ▐ TEAM: PHOENIX RACING ▐ CAR: PHOENIX RACING CHEVEROLET ▐ CREW CHIEF: NICK HARRISON

Kurt Busch: PURE PASSION Although it gets him in hot water from time to time, there’s no denying Kurt Busch’s passion for winning. Perhaps more than any other driver, the 2004 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series champion is known for calling out other drivers and even his own crew chiefs when he deems there’s a matter to be addressed. When correctly channeled, Busch’s zeal yields wins and otherwise stellar results.

▐ OWNER: RICK HENDRICK ▐ TEAM: HENDRICK MOTORSPORTS ▐ CAR: DRIVE TO END HUNGER CHEVROLET ▐ CREW CHIEF: ALAN GUSTAFSON

Jeff Gordon: RENAISSANCE MAN While not solely responsible for NASCAR’s transition from a sport ruled by Southerners to a sport featuring a geographically diverse crop of stars, Jeff Gordon’s early success paved the way for others. Born in California but raised in Indiana, Gordon won two premier races – the Brickyard 400 and the CocaCola 600 – in his second season (1994) and scored the ﬁrst of his four titles a year later.

▐ OWNERS: J.D. GIBBS ▐ TEAM: JOE GIBBS RACING ▐ CAR: FEDEX TOYOTA▐ CREW CHIEF: DARIAN GRUBB

Denny Hamlin: Mr. consistent Other than ﬁve-time champion Jimmie Johnson, Denny Hamlin is the only driver to make the Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup in every season he’s been part of the series. For Hamlin, that means he’s made NASCAR’s 10-race playoff all six times he’s tried since joining the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series in 2006. Hamlin made the Chase as a Wild Card entry in 2011.

POLE POSITION // 2012

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driver profiles: SUPER POWERS 29 ▐ OWNER: RICHARD CHILDRESS ▐ TEAM: RICHARD CHILDRESS RACING ▐ CAR: BUDWEISER CHEVROLET▐ CREW CHIEF: SHANE WILSON Kevin Harvick: SPOTLIGHT HORDE The grander the stage, the more Kevin Harvick seems to excel. The Richard Childress Racing driver has won the Daytona 500, the Brickyard 400 and the Coca-Cola 600 – the sport’s three crown-jewel events – since breaking into NASCAR’s top series in 2001. Harvick is notorious for hanging back a bit in races, only to seize the lead when the trophy and checkered ﬂag are around the corner.

17 ▐ OWNER: JOHN HENRY ▐ TEAM: ROUSH FENWAY RACING ▐ CAR: BEST BUY FORD ▐ CREW CHIEF: JIMMY FENNIG Matt Kenseth: QUIET ASSASSIN One of NASCAR’s least ﬂamboyant drivers, Matt Kenseth rarely raises his voice. When he does speak, Kenseth is typically a man of few words. He saves most of his talking for the track. With a championship in 2003, two Daytona 500 victories and a berth in all but one Chase, Kenseth has proven himself to be one of the sport’s best drivers.

20 ▐ OWNER: JOE GIBBS ▐ TEAM: JOE GIBBS RACING ▐ CAR: THE HOME DEPOT TOYOTA ▐ CREW CHIEF: JASON RATCLIFF Joey Logano: YOUTHFUL ENERGY Simply put: Time is on Joey Logano’s side. Just 21 years old, the fourth-year NASCAR Sprint Cup driver likely has a long future ahead even if it’s not with the Joe Gibbs Racing organization he entered the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series with in 2009. Full of energy and youthful exuberance, Logano spends much of his free time playing video games and hanging out with friends.

47 ▐ OWNER: TAD GESCHICKTER ▐ TEAM: JTG DAUGHERTY RACING ▐ CAR: KINGSFORD CHARCOAL TOYOTA ▐ CREW CHIEF: TODD BERRIER Bobby Labonte: STATESMAN With two decades of racing in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series under his belt, Bobby Labonte is one of the most respected drivers in the sport. Now undoubtedly in the twilight of a career highlighted by winning the 2000 NASCAR Sprint Cup championship and 21 races, the easy-going Texan will soon ride off into the sunset without having made many enemies along the way.

POLE POSITION // 2012

27 Paul Menard: HAMMERING AWAY

▐ OWNER: RICHARD CHILDRESS ▐ TEAM: RICHARD CHILDRESS RACING ▐ CAR: MENARDS CHEVROLET ▐ CREW CHIEF: RICHARD “SLUGGER” LABBE

The sponsorship Menard brings from his family’s business makes him an attractive option, but make no mistake – Menard is no slouch behind the wheel. He proved it by scoring an upset victory, his ﬁrst ever, in the 2011 Brickyard 400.

▐ OWNER: TERESA EARNHARDT ▐ TEAM: EARNHARDT GANASSI RACING ▐ CAR: BASS PRO SHOPS/TRACKER BOATS ▐ CREW CHIEF: KEVIN MANION

Jamie McMurray: PLATE GREAt If there’s a driver in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series who takes it up a notch at the series’ two restrictor-plate tracks, it’s Jamie McMurray. Indeed, Daytona and Talladega have been the Missouri native’s bread and butter over the years as three of his six career victories have come at the two tracks where horsepower-choking restrictor plates keep the cars bunched in tight packs.

▐ OWNER: CHIP GANASSI ▐ TEAM: EARNHARDT GANASSI RACING ▐ CAR: TARGET CHEVROLET ▐ CREW CHIEF: CHRIS HEROY

Juan Pablo Montoya: ROAd king A seven-time winner from his days in Formula One, Juan Pablo Montoya has more experience on road courses than almost all of his NASCAR competitors. It clearly shows. The Colombian-born driver’s only two wins have come in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series’ two road-course events, the ﬁrst at Inﬁneon Raceway in 2007 and the most recent at Watkins Glen International in 2010.

39 Ryan Newman: QUALIFYING ACE

▐ OWNER: TONY STEWART ▐ TEAM: STEWART-HAAS RACING ▐ CAR: U.S. ARMY CHEVROLET ▐ CREW CHIEF: TONY GIBSON

Ryan Newman is the best qualiﬁer in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series, and no one else is even in the same league. Appropriately nicknamed “The Rocketman,” or “Flyin’ Ryan,” the Indiana native’s name is consistently atop the speed charts at the conclusion of qualifying. Entering the 2012 NASCAR Sprint Cup season, Newman’s 49 career poles ranked 10th all time, tied with Bobby Isaac.

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nascar women School Of Hard Knocks

DANICA LEARNS VALUABLE LESSONS AT DAYTONA

essons learned at a new school aren’t always pleasant for the student and that was the case for Danica Patrick when she ventured to Daytona International Speedway for Speedweeks and her NASCAR Sprint Cup Series debut in the Daytona 500. Previously, Patrick had performed well at the 2.5-mile superspeedway. She finished sixth in her ARCA Racing Series debut in February 2010 and in two NASCAR Nationwide Series races last year she placed 14th in February and 10th in July after leading one and 13 laps, respectively. Speedweeks 2012, however, was a tough roller coaster ride that left her with the vow, “I’ll come back stronger.” Patrick ran well in her Gatorade Duel qualifying race until the final lap when an incident with two other cars sent her sailing into the backstretch’s inside wall. A day later she rebounded to earn the pole for the season-opening NASCAR Nationwide Series race only to be sent to the garage for repairs in that event after a bump draft from her teammate as they entered Turn 3 sent her sideways and into the outside wall. She returned to the track, but finished 38th. Then in the Daytona 500 a multi-car crash on the second lap sent her Chevrolet to the garage for extensive repairs. Once again, her crew returned her to the race for a 38th-place finish. “A lot of this stuff, obviously, is out of your control at times and that’s kind of the exciting thing about Daytona and big tracks is that anything can happen and will happen as we’ve seen,” Patrick said in reflecting on her first full Speedweeks. “I learned a lot. I got a lot of experience and I’m really proud of the crew putting the car back together. Any lap that I turn is progression, that’s for sure.” Patrick, who celebrated her 30th birthday in March, admitted the way the Daytona 500 unfolded “was very perplexing in my mind.” “I think that I picked up a lot of good tips and I just wish that the beginning of the race could have been a nice, single-file line like it was when I got back out there. But it wasn’t,” she said. “Honestly, that’s my lesson to learn, maybe, is that just write-off that first little bit if you’re not up front.” In addition to seat time, Patrick gained the knowledge that nothing is anti-climactic at Daytona.

POLE POSITION // 2012

BY DEB WILLIAMS

I’ll come back stronger.

“The week started off with me doing about 2½ hours of interviewing to start off the day on Thursday [Media Day]. So that’s not a small day,” she commented. “I like the layout and the format of the week. Test and qualify, test and race. That’s nice. It reminds me of how Indy used to be before they shortened up the month.” She also discovered that with the in-car cameras the reflexes she learned in IndyCar racing must sometimes be explained. When she headed for the backstretch wall in the qualifying race, she released the steering wheel and put her hands up to her helmet. It was a move many in the stock car racing world didn’t understand. “In IndyCars we learn to take the hands off the wheel because the holes for your hand are even smaller and we have dashes and the wheel flips,” she explained. “I’ve had plenty of times where I have bruised my thumb, my bones, on the wheel. I was trained to, when there is no saving it and no hope, you let go. Was I covering my eyes? I honestly felt like my hands were down here [places hands near her chest], but they were higher than that, I guess.” Despite the media bombardment during Speedweeks, Patrick says she didn’t allow the outside pressure to affect her. “I feel like there are a lot of hopes, but I don’t feel the pressure that I have to do something,” she said. “I feel very lucky to be in the situation that I’m in. I feel lucky to be unique and different. I feel lucky to have the fan base that I do. If that helps in anyway or if we can work together to make it even better than that is just a win, win.”

Things We Learned About 5 Danica During Speedweeks

SHE HAS A LOT TO LEARN: This is something she readily admits, but taking three wrecked cars back to the North Carolina shops emphasize the point. SHE’S A RACE CAR DRIVER AT HEART AND IS FITTING IN QUICKLY: After a bump draft at the wrong place on the track sent her into the wall during the NASCAR Nationwide Series race, she wasn’t afraid to show her emotions – or annoyance – for the driver who hit her car. SHE HAS A FAST CAR AND CAN HANDLE IT: She ran with the pack in her qualifying race and won the pole for the NASCAR Nationwide Series event. SHE’S EVERYWHERE: From endless chatter by TV and radio commentators to TV commercials and web ads, there’s no escaping her. SHE SPEAKS HER MIND: Danica provides honest, insightful answers to the questions she’s asked.

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POLE POSITION // 2012

Use Meguiar’s Gold Class Premium Quik Detailer to keep black cars blacker and maintain a deep, rich high gloss shine on all colors! The high lubricity formula safely removes dust and fingerprints. Gold Class Premium Quik Detailer leaves behind a super slick finish! Available at Walmart.

8 BFGOODRICH

Pull into Walmart® for a four-tire change to get the next level of control – and fun – with BFGoodrich® tires. They deliver race-inspired grip, record-setting acceleration and toughness that we’ve proven in Baja for 36 years. Whether you love driving off-road or on the street, upping your performance is as easy as bolting on a set of BFGoodrich tires. To learn more, visit bfgoodrichtires.com.

9 NASCAR POLE POSITION ON ZINIO.COM

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All-Terrain T/A® KO

Now race fans can get all five national editions of NASCAR Pole Position on your desktop or tablet via digital newsstand provider Zinio. com. Fans can log on to zinio.com (or download the app on your tablet or phone) and secure your subscription, which will be automatically delivered to your device. Zinio.com supports the iPad, iPhone and Android devices. Visit freeracemag.com to secure your subscription or to learn more.

Poor visibility, especially at night, is a serious driving hazard. Did you know that headlights dim over time? SilverStar® ULTRA Headlights from SYLVANIA are up to 50 percent brighter, provide up to 40 percent increased downroad visibility and up to 50 percent sideroad visibility. A whiter, brighter light improves your reaction time, helps to avoid roadside hazards and pedestrians, and can provide you with a better nighttime driving experience. Upgrade today to start seeing better on the road. Available at most automotive product retailers. sylvania.com/auto

11 WHITE CLOUD

Premium quality at an affordable price – that’s why White Cloud® is The Smart Alternative for bath tissue. Some bath tissue brands believe that a high price proves they’re “premium.” Not us! White Cloud two-ply bath tissue has all the softness you want and now it’s even thicker so you get more comfort with more money left in your pocket. Why pay more? mywhitecloud.com

12 TIGER BALM

When you need industrial-strength pain relief, but don’t want to risk the side effects caused by pills, Tiger Balm is your best tool for the job. For more than 100 years, Tiger Balm’s proven blend of herbal ingredients has delivered safe, fast and effective pain relief without the pills. It’s no wonder millions of users around the world reach for Tiger Balm to soothe their aches and pains. Available at Walgreens, CVS, drugstores, mass merchants and super markets. tigerbalm.com/us

FREERACEMAG.COM

careers Marshall Carlson

Matt Borland

PRESIDENT, HENDRICK MOTORSPORTS

arshall Carlson is in the family, but he didn’t become the president of Hendrick Motorsports just because he’s the son-in-law of legendary team owner Rick Hendrick. Carlson, like many top executives in NASCAR, had to start at the bottom and work his way up. Promoted to president and chief operating officer of the Hendrick organization in July 2010 at age 37, Carlson spent his earliest days with the company sweeping floors as part of a chassis department summer internship. And that was by no means his only notso-glamorous duty. “Probably the one that was most challenging from a non-glamour standpoint is I helped pull the cabling when this thing called the Internet got invented,” said Carlson, now 39. “We wanted to be able to connect computers to each other around here, so me and one of the other young engineers here were actually hanging from the ceiling and digging ditches and pulling cabling to connect the computers many years ago.” After earning a degree in business administration from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in 1996, Carlson worked as an engineer for the Hendrick organization’s now-extinct NASCAR Camping World Truck Series team. Following the 1998 season, he was appointed the company’s director of marketing services, and in 2000 oversaw a $10 million project that included the design and construction of the race shop now housing two of Hendrick’s NASCAR Sprint Cup Series teams. From 2002 to 2004, Carlson held the role of vice president of corporate financial management with the affiliated Hendrick Automotive Group for which he presided over more than $200 million in real estate projects. Carlson had been Hendrick Motorsports’ executive vice president and general manager from January 2005 until moving into his current position. “There’s a saying that doors often get opened, but you’ve got to charge your way into the opportunity,” he said. “I’m very, very

POLE POSITION // 2012

BY JARED TURNER

VICE PRESIDENT OF COMPETITION, STEWART-HAAS RACING

A VITAL STATS: ■ ■ ■ ■

Name: Marshall Carlson Resides: Charlotte, N.C. Age: 39 Occupation: President and chief operating officer, Hendrick Motorsports

TIPS FOR ASPIRING EXECUTIVES:

■ Travel with a team to learn nuances of the sport ■ Develop professional relationships that could lead to career opportunities

blessed that some doors have been opened for me in my career, but you’ve got to charge your way into it. And I believe in that part of it very much.” Carlson has a heavy hand these days in both the business and competition-related operations of arguably NASCAR’s most successful organization. “Marshall is a very charismatic wonderful guy who leads Hendrick Motorsports and cares more about this company than anybody I know, or as much as anybody I know,” said Steve Letarte, crew chief on the No. 88 Hendrick car of Dale Earnhardt Jr. “He has an amazing knack of balancing the business and the competition side. Wherever he leads this company, I’ll be happy to follow.” Carlson believes his time with the Hendrick NASCAR Camping World Truck Series team, as much as anything else, laid the groundwork for where he is today. “That’s really where the rubber meets the road is on the road, so to speak, at the race tracks,” he said. “And there are so many folks that come up, particularly in the business side, that don’t have that experience to see these things. So in this role, I’ve got a ton of respect for the people in our organization that do that week in and week out, and I think I also benefited from having some of the perspective from doing that.”

former crew chief at Penske Racing for current StewartHaas Racing driver Ryan Newman, Matt Borland has emerged as one of NASCAR’s leading technical wizards while working largely under the radar as vice president of competition for Stewart-Haas. On how to reach the upper echelon of management with an elite team, Borland has garnered some tips along the way. “Driving the car is very important but if you can’t do that, work for a team, volunteer for a team, just get a good working knowledge of how the cars work but also how the people work and the level of dedication it takes to get to that top level,” said Borland, who earned a mechanical engineering degree from General Motors Institute in 1994. “I think second is getting an education. I think engineering’s a good avenue to go from that aspect. It teaches you a lot about the inner workings of how a car works, so I think those are two big things. “The third thing is just understanding people, because it’s all about building those relationships and figuring out how to use everybody’s talents.” Borland, 40, worked for PAC West Racing’s CART Team, Pi Research and General Motors before joining Penske Racing’s NASCAR team in 1999. While at Penske, he guided Newman to 12 victories in five seasons. The two reunited, albeit with Borland in a different role, when Newman and Stewart became drivers for the revamped Stewart-Haas Racing organization in 2009. “Matt has two huge strengths and they are his understanding of engineering, his understanding of technology and how to incorporate that into a race team, and secondly, he will not quit,” Newman said. “He never quits. Never in my life have I seen him quit anything. He will build something and he will perfect it, and that’s what it takes to be a championship contender.”

lifestyle DOWNTIME WITH DENNY HAMILN

hen the 2011 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series season ended, Denny Hamlin was flat burnt out. Not that anyone could blame him. Thirty-eight weekends of racing in a year, on top of numerous sponsor and fan appearances, will wear down the most energetic driver. After a trying 2011, Hamlin needed to recharge his battery. So he left his Charlotte, N.C., home for several weeks and rented a house in Scottsdale, Ariz. It was just what the doctor ordered for the Joe Gibbs Racing driver, who narrowly missed out on the championship in 2010, but barely made the Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup in 2011. “I needed to get away from Charlotte because that’s where everyone is at and you see everyone and everyone wants to talk about racing,” Hamlin said. “I just needed to get away from racing as a whole after last year and get rejuvenated, and I feel like moving away for a few months does that for me.” Hamlin took advantage of Arizona’s mild winter temperatures to pursue one of his favorite hobbies – golf. “When racing is done, I’d love to play on the senior’s tour,” he said, referring to the PGA Champions Tour for golfers age 50 and older. “That’s a realistic goal for me.”

MENTAL PREP WITH CLINT BOWYER How do you mentally prepare to race? Is there anything special you do to get your mind ready?

I’ve had my grandmother slam on the brakes and turn around when a black cat crossed the road, so I’ve done all that and it didn’t work. The penny, I will say, every time I find a penny heads up on race day, I’ve always had a good day.

TRAINING WITH PAUL MENARD

aul Menard admittedly has days – most of them during the short NASCAR offseason – when he opts not to work out. Those days are few and far between, however. Menard, like so many of his NASCAR Sprint Cup Series contemporaries, highly regards physical fitness. The Richard Childress Racing driver, who earned his first career victory in the 2011 Brickyard 400, realizes being in optimal shape can only enhance one’s chances of success on race day. “I work out with a trainer and just try to eat right and try to stay active,” said Menard, who stands at 5-foot-10 and weighs in at around 180 pounds. Menard typically tries to work out at least an hour or two each day. “I hate to run so we try to do everything to keep your heart rate up without actually running,” he said. “I do racquetball and just try to stay active. We do a lot of diametrics and weight training, too.” Menard, who entered NASCAR’s premier series full-time in 2007 with Dale Earnhardt Inc., wants to stay fit as long as possible. “I think it’s really important,” he said. “Our sport’s 90 percent mental but if you have a muscle that might get fatigued, for example, you’re thinking about that, not what you should be.”

FUELING UP WITH BRENDAN GAUGHAN

Breakfast:

“BREAKFAST CONSISTS of one egg, a couple egg whites and an omelet that I’ll make, or now that I have to be at Richard Childress Racing early in the morning, I’m on the road so it’s a breakfast protein shake and a yogurt. There is probably a little coffee mixed in there somewhere.”

Lunch:

“IT’S A LOT OF SALADS. I try to pay attention to just how much bread and how much junk I’m eating. Right now it’s more of getting a decent lunch in because I’m working out twice a day and need to get some energy back in me for the second workout.”

Dinner:

“I HAVE A 15-MONTH OLD son so dinner sometimes is an oxymoron where you’re feeding him more than you’re trying to feed yourself. Dinner right now consists of normally a lot of clean stuff, a clean carb like a clean pasta, and normally a lot of chicken, a lot of fish.”

Snack:

GAUGHAN EATS “DIFFERent protein bars and stuff like that.” He adds: “I’m a pretty easy snacker. I grab a couple protein bars before I leave my house and take those with me and have a 5-hour [energy drink] about 1 o’clock in the afternoon, and that’s what we do.” FREERACEMAG.COM

PHOTOHUNT

Study the top photo, then see if you can find the 10 changes that were made in the bottom photo.

POLE POSITION // 2012

(1) FARMERS is yellow on the car (2) Hendrick on the trunk is yellow (3) Water tower in the background on left side (4) Helicopter flying in background (5) Bird flying top right (6) A.E. Engine above garage on the left (7) In foreground, tools removed by gas can (8) Construction tire added by the front of the car (9) Birthday hat on guy by toolbox on right (10) Yellow car in the middle top.

fun pages

FAN ARTWORK

1 AND THE WINNERS ARE... ■ [1] Hadi Hasnain - Age 8 - Laurel, Md. ■ [2] Zack Mayer - Age 13 - Port Orange, Fla. ■ Visit freeracemag.com to learn more about the Winner’s Circle.

Can you draw NASCAR?

ow is your chance to be featured in the pages of NASCAR Pole Position! Send us your NASCAR-themed artwork. The lucky winners will receive a race jacket of their favorite driver! On a piece of paper, send us your name, age, complete mailing address, email address or phone number and the driver jacket you would like to win. No purchase necessary. All entries are eligible. Submissions cannot be returned. Questions? Email us at poleposition@ ae-engine.com. Send your artwork, unfolded, in an oversized envelope to: NASCAR Pole Position Magazine c/o A.E. Engine, Attn: Stacey Foster 11880 28th St. North, Suite 101 St. Petersburg, FL 33716

WORDSPELL How many words can you spell using only the letters that appear in this team owner’s name?

richard childress hard, child, dress...

WHO AM I?

MATCH UP

■ My hometown is Chesterfield, Va. ■ I drive for Joe Gibbs Racing ■ I started racing go-karts at age 7 ■ I won my first race at the Pocono 500 ■ I was the 2006 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Rookie of the Year

Match the driver to his car number:

■ ■ ■ ■ ■

Dale Earnhardt Jr. Brad Keselowski Tony Stewart Ryan Newman Kyle Busch

ANSWERS // WHO AM I? Denny Hamlin // MATCH-UP: Dale Earnhardt Jr. (88); Brad Keselowski (2); Tony Stewart (14); Ryan Newman (39); Kyle Busch (18)

FREERACEMAG.COM

rosters & schedules 2012 NASCAR SPRINT CUP SERIES ROSTER No.

Driver

Team

Sponsor & Make

Crew Chief

Hometown

Birthdate

Jamie McMurray

Earnhardt Ganassi Racing

Bass Pro Shops/McDonald’s Chevrolet

Kevin Manion

Joplin, Mo.

June 3, 1976

Brad Keselowski

Penske Racing

Miller Lite Dodge

Paul Wolfe

Rochester Hills, Mich.

Feb. 12, 1984

Kasey Kahne

Hendrick Motorsports

Farmers Insurance/Quaker State Chevrolet

Kenny Francis

Enumclaw, Wash.

April 10, 1980

Robby Gordon

Robby Gordon Motorsports

SPEED Energy Dodge

Sam Stanley

Orange, Calif.

Jan. 2, 1969

Marcos Ambrose

Richard Petty Motorsports

Stanley/DeWalt Ford

Todd Parrott

Tasmania, Australia

Sept. 1, 1976

Danica Patrick

Stewart-Haas Racing

GoDaddy.com Chevrolet

Greg Zipadelli

Roscoe, Ill.

March 25, 1982

David Reutimann

Tommy Baldwin racing

Tommy Baldwin Racing Chevrolet

Tommy Baldwin Jr.

Zephyrhills, Fla.

March 2, 1970

Denny Hamlin

Joe Gibbs Racing

FedEx Toyota

Darian Grubb

Chesterfield, Va.

Nov. 18, 1980

Casey Mears

Germain Racing

GEICO Ford

Robert “Bootie” Barker Bakersfield, Calif.

March 12, 1978

Tony Stewart

Stewart-Haas Racing

Office Depot/Mobil 1 Chevrolet

Steve Addington

Columbus, Ind.

May 20, 1971

Clint Bowyer

Michael Waltrip Racing

5-Hour Energy Toyota

Brian Pattie

Emporia, Kan.

May 30, 1979

Greg Biffle

Roush Fenway Racing

3M Ford

Matt Puccia

Vancouver, Wash.

Dec. 23, 1969

Matt Kenseth

Roush Fenway Racing

Best Buy Ford

Jimmy Fennig

Cambridge, Wis.

March 10, 1972

Kyle Busch

Joe Gibbs Racing

M&M’s Toyota

Dave Rogers

Las Vegas, Nev.

May 2, 1985

Joey Logano

Joe Gibbs Racing

The Home Depot/Dollar General Toyota

Jason Ratcliff

Middletown, Conn.

May 24, 1990

Trevor Bayne

Wood Brothers Racing

Motorcraft/Quick Lane Ford

Donnie Wingo

Knoxville, Tenn.

Feb. 19, 1991

AJ Allmendinger

Penske Racing

Shell/Pennzoil Dodge

Todd Gordon

Los Gatos, Calif.

Dec. 16, 1981

Robert Richardson Jr. R3 Motorsports

R3 Motorsports Chevrolet

Bryan Cook

McKinney, Texas

April 4, 1982

Jeff Gordon

Hendrick Motorsports

Drive to End Hunger/DuPont Chevrolet

Alan Gustafson

Vallejo, Calif.

Aug. 4, 1971

Paul Menard

Richard Childress Racing

Menards Chevrolet

Richard “Slugger” Labbe Eau Claire, Wis.

Aug. 21, 1980

Kevin Harvick

Richard Childress Racing

Budweiser/Rheem Chevrolet

Shane Wilson

Bakersfield, Calif.

Dec. 8, 1975

David Stremme

Inception Motorsports

Inception Motorsports Chevrolet

Steve Lane

South Bend, Ind.

Jun 19, 1977

Jeff Burton

Richard Childress Racing

Caterpillar/Wheaties Chevrolet

Drew Blickensderfer

South Boston, Va.

June 20, 1967

David Ragan

Front Row Motorsports

Taco Bell Ford

Jay Guy

Unadilla, Ga.

Dec. 24, 1985

Dave Blaney

Tommy Baldwin Racing

Tommy Baldwin Racing Chevrolet

Ryan Pemberton

Hartford, Ohio

Oct. 24, 1962

David Gilliland

Front Row Motorsports

Long Jon Silver’s Ford

Pat Tryson

Riverside, Calif.

April 1, 1976

Ryan Newman

Stewart-Haas Racing

U.S. Army/Quicken Loans Chevrolet

Tony Gibson

South Bend, Ind.

Dec. 8, 1977

Juan Montoya

Earnhardt Ganassi Racing

Target Chevrolet

Chris Heroy

Bogota, Colombia

Sept. 20, 1975

Aric Almirola

Richard Petty Motorsports

Smithfield Foods Ford

Greg Erwin

Tampa, Fla.

March 14, 1983

Bobby Labonte

JTG Daugherty Racing

Clorox/Kingsford Charcoal Toyota

Todd Berrier

Corpus Christi, Texas

May 8, 1964

Jimmie Johnson

Hendrick Motorsports

Lowe’s/Kobalt Tools Chevrolet

Chad Knaus

El Cajon, Calif.

Sept. 17, 1975

Kurt Busch

Phoenix Racing

Phoenix Construction Chevrolet

Nick Harrison

Las Vegas, Nev.

Aug. 4, 1978

Mark Martin

Michael Waltrip Racing

Aaron’s Toyota

Rodney Childers

Batesville, Ark.

Jan. 9, 1959

Martin Truex Jr.

Michael Waltrip Racing

NAPA Auto Parts Toyota

Chad Johnston

Mayetta, N.J.

June 29, 1980

Regan Smith

Furniture Row Racing

Furniture Row Chevrolet

Pete Rondeau

Cato, N.Y.

Sept. 23, 1983

Landon Cassill

BK Racing

Burger King Toyota

Doug Richert

Fairfax, Iowa

July 7, 1989

Joe Nemechek

NEMCO Motorsports

NEMCO Motorsports Toyota

Steven Gray

Lakeland, Fla.

Sept. 26, 1963

Dale Earnhardt Jr.

Hendrick Motorsports

National Guard/Diet Mt. Dew Chevrolet

Steve Letarte

Kannapolis, N.C.

Oct. 10, 1974

Travis Kvapil

BK Racing

Burger King Toyota

Todd Anderson

Janesville, Wis.

March 1, 1976

Scott Speed

Leavine Family Racing

Leavine Family Racing Ford

Wally Rogers

Manteca, Calif.

Jan. 24, 1983

Michael McDowell

Phil Parsons Racing

Curb Records Ford

Gene Nead

Glendale, Ariz.

Dec. 21, 1984

Carl Edwards

Roush Fenway Racing

Fastenal Ford

Bob Osborne

Columbia, Mo.

Aug. 15, 1979

2012 NASCAR SPRINT CUP SERIES SCHEDULE

Feb. 18

*Daytona International Speedway

May 27

Charlotte Motor Speedway

Sept. 2

Atlanta Motor Speedway

Feb. 26

Daytona International Speedway

June 3

Dover International Speedway

Sept. 8

Richmond International Raceway

March 4

Phoenix International Raceway

June 10

Pocono International Raceway

Sept. 16

Chicagoland Speedway

March 11 Las Vegas Motor Speedway

June 17

Michigan International Speedway

Sept. 23 New Hampshire Motor Speedway

March 18 Bristol Motor Speedway

June 24

Infineon Raceway

Sept. 30 Dover International Speedway

March 25 Auto Club Speedway

June 30

Kentucky Speedway

Oct. 7

Talladega Superspeedway

April 1

Martinsville Speedway

July 7

Daytona International Speedway

Oct. 13

Charlotte Motor Speedway

April 14

Texas Motor Speedway

July 15

New Hampshire Motor Speedway

Oct. 21

Kansas Speedway

April 22

Kansas Speedway

July 29

Indianapolis Motor Speedway

Oct. 28

Martinsville Speedway

April 28

Richmond International Raceway

Aug. 5

Pocono Raceway

Nov. 4

Texas Motor Speedway

May 6

Talladega Superspeedway

Aug. 12

Watkins Glen International

Nov. 11

Phoenix International Raceway

May 12

Darlington Raceway

Aug. 1

Michigan International Speedway

Nov. 18

Homestead-Miami Speedway

May 19

*Charlotte Motor Speedway

Aug. 25

Bristol Motor Speedway

*Non-Points, Special Event

POLE POSITION // 2012

2012 NASCAR NATIONWIDE SERIES ROSTER & SCHEDULE No.

Driver

Hometown

Team

Make

Crew Chief

Feb. 25

Daytona International Speedway

01 09 2 3 4 6 7 10 11 12 13 14 15 18 19 20 22 23 31 33 38 39 40 43 51 54 60 70 81 87 88 89 99

Mike Wallace Kenny Wallace Elliott Sadler Austin Dillon Danny Efland Ricky Stenhouse Jr. Danica Patrick Jeff Green Brian Scott Sam Hornish Jr. Jennifer Jo Cobb Eric McClure Timmy Hill Denny Hamlin Michael McDowell Tayler Malsam Joey Logano Denny Hamlin Brad Keselowski Robert Richardson Jr. Jamie Dick Justin Allgaier Kevin Harvick Brad Sweet Kasey Kahne Joey Gase Josh Wise Michael Annett Jeremy Clements Kyle Busch Kurt Busch Trevor Bayne Johanna Long Jason Bowles Joe Nemechek Cole Whitt Morgan Shepherd Travis Pastrana

St. Louis, Mo. St. Louis, Mo. Emporia, Va. Lewisville, N.C. Irmo, S.C. Olive Branch, Miss. Roscoe, Ill. Owensboro, Ky. Boise, Idaho Defiance, Ohio Kansas City, Kan. Chilhowie, Va. Port Tobacco, Md. Chesterfield, Va. Glendale, Ariz. Seattle, Wash. Middletown, Conn. Chesterfield, Va. Rochester Hills, Mich. McKinney, Texas Albuquerque, N.M. Riverton, Ill. Bakersfield, Calif. Grass Valley, Calif. Enumclaw, Wash. Cedar Rapids, Iowa Riverside, Calif. Des Moines, Iowa Spartanburg, S.C. Las Vegas, Nev. Las Vegas, Nev. Knoxville, Tenn. Pensacola, Fla. Ontario, Calif. Lakeland, Fla. Alpine, Calif. Conover, N.C. Annapolis, Md.

JD Motorsports RAB Racing Richard Childress Racing Richard Childress Racing JD Motorsports Roush Fenway Racing JR Motorsports Tri-Star Motorsports Joe Gibbs Racing Penske Racing Jennifer Jo Cobb Racing TriStar Motorsports Rick Ware Racing Joe Gibbs Racing

Chevrolet Toyota Chevrolet Chevrolet Chevrolet Ford Chevrolet Toyota Toyota Dodge Dodge Chevrolet Ford Toyota

Newt Moore Scott Zipadelli Luke Lambert Danny Stockman Patrick Magee Mike Kelley Tony Eury Jr. Todd Myers Kevin Kidd Chad Walter Steve Kuykendall Wes Ward George Church Matt Lucas

March 3

Phoenix International Raceway

TriStar Motorsports Joe Gibbs Racing

Chevrolet Toyota

Eddie Pardue Adam Stevens

Penske Racing R3 Motorsports

Dodge Chevrolet

Jeremy Bullins Greg Conner

Turner Motorsports Richard Childress Racing Turner Motorsports

Chevrolet Chevrolet Chevrolet

Jimmy Elledge Ernie Cope Mike Shiplett

Go Green Racing The Motorsports Group Richard Petty Motorsports Jeremy Clements Racing Kyle Busch Motorsports

Ford Chevrolet Ford Chevrolet Toyota

Clinton Cram Gary Showalter Phillippe Lopez Ricky Pearson Mike Beam

Roush Fenway Racing ML Motorsports MacDonald Motorsports NEMCO Motorsports JR Motorsports Faith Motorsports Diamond-Waltrip Racing

Ford Chevrolet Dodge Chevrolet Chevrolet Chevrolet Toyota

Chad Norris Mark Gutekunst John Monsam Gary Cogswell Tony Eury Gary Ravan Mike Greci

March 10

Las Vegas Motor Speedway

March 17

Bristol Motor Speedway

March 24

Auto Club Speedway

April 13

Texas Motor Speedway

April 27

Richmond International Raceway

May 5

Talladega Superspeedway

May 11

Darlington Raceway

May 20

Iowa Speedway

May 26

Charlotte Motor Speedway

June 2

Dover International Speedway

June 16

Michigan International Speedway

June 23

Road America

June 29

Kentucky Speedway

July 6

Daytona International Speedway

July 14

New Hampshire Motor Speedway

July 22

Chicagoland Speedway

July 28

Indianapolis Motor Speedway

Aug. 4

Iowa Speedway

Aug. 11

Watkins Glen International

Aug. 18

Circuit Gilles Villeneuve

Aug. 24

Bristol Motor Speedway

Sept. 1

Atlanta Motor Speedway

Sept. 7

Richmond International Raceway

Sept. 15

Chicagoland Speedway

Sept. 22

Kentucky Speedway

Sept. 29

Dover International Speedway

Oct. 12

Charlotte Motor Speedway

Oct. 20

Kansas Speedway

Nov. 3

Texas Motor Speedway

Nov. 10

Phoenix International Raceway

Nov. 17

Homestead-Miami Speedway

2012 NASCAR CAMPING WORLD TRUCK SERIES ROSTER & SCHEDULE No.

Driver

Hometown

Team

Make

Crew Chief

Feb. 24

Daytona International Speedway

09 2 3 5 7 6 9 13 17 18 22 23 24 29 30 31 32 33 39 57 60 82 88 92 98

John Wes Townley Tim George Jr. Ty Dillon Paulie Harraka John King Justin Lofton Ron Hornaday Jr. Johnny Sauter Timothy Peters Jason Leffler Joey Coulter Jason White Max Gresham Parker Kligerman Nelson Piquet Jr. James Buescher Miguel Paludo Cale Gale Ryan Sieg Norm Benning J.R. Fitzpatrick Grant Enfinger Matt Crafton David Reutimann Dakoda Armstrong

Watkinsville, Ga. New York, N.Y. Lewisville, N.C. Fair Lawn, N.J. Kingsport, Tenn. Westmorland, Calif. Palmdale, Calif. Necedah, Wis. Providence, N.C. Long Beach, Calif. Miami Springs, Fla. Powhatan, Va. Stockbridge, Ga. Westport, Conn. Brasilia, Brazil Plano, Texas Nova Prata, Brazil Mobile, Ala. Tucker, Ga. Level Green, Pa. Cambridge, Ontario Fairhope, Ala. Tulare, Calif. Zephyrhills, Fla. New Castle, Ind.

Robby Benton Racing Richard Childress Racing Richard Childress Racing Wauters Motorsports Red Horse Racing Eddie Sharp Racing Joe Denette Motorsports ThorSport Racing Red Horse Racing Kyle Busch Motorsports Richard Childress Racing GunBroker.com Racing Joe Denette Motorsports Brad Keselowski Racing Turner Motorsports Turner Motorsports Turner Motorsports Eddie Sharp Racing RSS Racing Norm Benning Racing Turn One Racing BRG Motorsports ThorSport Racing RBR Enterprises ThorSport Racing

Toyota Chevrolet Chevrolet Ford Toyota Chevrolet Chevrolet Toyota Toyota Toyota Chevrolet Ford Chevrolet Dodge Chevrolet Chevrolet Chevrolet Chevrolet Chevrolet Chevrolet Chevrolet Ford Toyota Chevrolet Toyota

Chris Rice Marcus Richmond Scott Naset Richie Wauters Chad Kendrick Danny Bormann Jeff Hensley Joe Shear Jr. Butch Hylton Eric Phillips Harold Holly Doug George Richie Snyder Doug Randolph Chris Carrier Michael Shelton Mike Hillman Jr. Jerry Baxter Tony Wilson James Dugger Kevin Starland Josh Bragg Carl Joiner Jason Overstreet Dan Stillman

March 31

Martinsville Speedway

April 15

Rockingham Speedway

April 21

Kansas Speedway

May 18

Charlotte Motor Speedway

June 1

Dover International Speedway

June 8

Texas Motor Speedway

June 28

Kentucky Speedway

July 14

Iowa Speedway

July 21

Chicagoland Speedway

Aug. 4

Pocono Raceway

Aug. 18

Michigan International Speedway

Aug. 22

Bristol Motor Speedway

Aug. 31

Atlanta Motor Speedway

Sept. 15

Iowa Speedway

Sept. 21

Kentucky Speedway

Sept. 29

Las Vegas Motor Speedway

Oct. 6

Talladega Superspeedway

Oct. 27

Martinsville Speedway

Nov. 2

Texas Motor Speedway

Nov. 9

Phoenix International Raceway

Nov. 16

Homestead-Miami Speedway FREERACEMAG.COM

did you know? Manufacturers’ Title a Coveted Prize

FORD, DODGE AND TOYOTA TRYING TO STOP CHEVROLET’S STREAK

hile the battle for the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series championship garners most of the headlines, another title fight is quietly being waged each time the green flag is waved over NASCAR’s premier series. This battle is among the four participating automobile companies as Ford, Toyota and Dodge attempt to end Chevrolet’s string of nine consecutive NASCAR Manufacturers’ Championships. Points are awarded at each of the 36 races with the winning manufacturer earning nine points. The second highest finishing make receives six points with four points for the next finisher and three points for the fourth and final manufacturer. The NASCAR Manufacturers’ Championship was introduced in 1952 and Chevrolet has won the title 35 times, including each year since 2003. Ford has 15 championship trophies while Dodge has won the prestigious title twice. Toyota, which joined the series in 2007, has yet to claim the ultimate prize. “This is an accomplishment that requires tireless dedication from everyone who is involved – drivers, team owners, crew chiefs, team members and engineers, as well as the dedicated professionals who contribute to our program,” Chevrolet’s Jim Campbell said after the manufacturer claimed the 2011 title. Manufacturer participation has been a critical part of NASCAR since the days when the cars literally rolled off the showroom floors. Manufacturers have long understood the role NASCAR plays in attracting customers to their products. In fact, “Win on Sunday, sell on Monday,” is much more than a clever promotional slogan. “Motorsports is a marketing program, and, specifically, is part of our outreach to fans and enthusiasts who have really a rich, deep connection with the manufacturer,” said

POLE POSITION // 2012

Jamie Allison, director of Ford Racing. “Ultimately, we will be judged on were we able to help the company communicate about its great products, its great pillars and what we stand for, and help sell cars and trucks. There’s no question that NASCAR allows us to do that.”

Today, each of NASCAR’s top teams has an alliance with one of the four participating manufacturers. Each team negotiates its own deal, so the details of the various manufacturer agreements are closely guarded secrets. But engineering expertise and wind-tunnel time are often among the key components.

CHEVROLET ■ ELIGIBLE MODEL: 2011 & 2012 Impala ■ MANUFACTURERS’ CHAMPIONSHIPS: 35 ■ FAST FACTS: Chevrolet’s first Manufacturers’ Championship came in 1958 and it has dominated in recent years, winning the last nine consecutive titles. TOP 2012 TEAMS AND DRIVERS: ■ HENDRICK MOTORSPORTS: Jimmie Johnson, Jeff Gordon, Dale Earnhardt Jr., Kasey Kahne ■ RICHARD CHILDRESS RACING: Kevin Harvick, Jeff Burton, Paul Menard ■ STEWART-HAAS RACING: Tony Stewart, Ryan Newman, Danica Patrick ■ EARNHARDT GANASSI RACING: Juan Pablo Montoya, Jamie McMurray ■ FURNITURE ROW RACING: Regan Smith FORD ■ ELIGIBLE MODEL: 2011 & 2012 Fusion ■ MANUFACTURERS’ CHAMPIONSHIPS: 15 ■ FAST FACTS: The “Big Blue Oval” earned if first NASCAR Manufacturers’ Championship in 1958 and its total includes seven straight between 1963 and 1969. TOP 2012 TEAMS AND DRIVERS: ■ ROUSH FENWAY RACING: Carl Edwards, Matt Kenseth, Greg Biffle ■ RICHARD PETTY MOTORSPORTS: Marcos Ambrose, Aric Almirola ■ WOOD BROTHERS RACING: Trevor Bayne ■ GERMAIN RACING: Casey Mears TOYOTA ■ ELIGIBLE MODEL: 2011 & 2012 Camry ■ MANUFACTURERS’ CHAMPIONSHIPS: 0 ■ FAST FACTS: Toyota made its NASCAR Sprint Cup Series debut in 2007 and finished second in the 2010 Manufacturers’ Championship. TOP 2012 TEAMS AND DRIVERS: ■ JOE GIBBS RACING: Kyle Busch, Denny Hamlin, Joey Logano ■ MICHAEL WALTRIP RACING: Martin Truex Jr., Clint Bowyer, Mark Martin ■ JTG DAUGHERTY RACING: Bobby Labonte DODGE ■ ELIGIBLE MODEL: 2011 & 2012 Charger ■ MANUFACTURERS’ CHAMPIONSHIPS: 2 ■ FAST FACTS: Dodge won the NASCAR Manufacturers’ Championship in 1970 and 1975, but ended its involvement two years later. The manufacturer returned to NASCAR racing in 2001. TOP 2012 TEAMS AND DRIVERS: ■ PENSKE RACING: Brad Keselowski, AJ Allmendinger ■ ROBBY GORDON MOTORSPORTS: Robby Gordon

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insider’s view FRESH FACES

Austin Dillon

2011 NASCAR CAMPING WORLD TRUCK SERIES CHAMPION

THINGS YOU DON’T KNOW ABOUT AUSTIN DILLON

is grandfather is a six-time NASCAR Sprint Cup Series champion team owner and a NASCAR Hall of Fame nominee. His father is a former NASCAR Nationwide Series driver turned NASCAR Sprint Cup team executive. Based on these two facts alone, there’s no question Austin Dillon possesses a potent racing pedigree. And based on his early success, there’s widespread belief Dillon has an extremely bright future in a sport that has been the centerpiece of his family’s existence since long before he was even born. Dillon, who turns 22 on April 27, won two races and the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series championship last season as a second-year driver in the series. This followed a solid debut season in which the youngster captured two wins, a fifth-place points finish, and top rookie honors. Dillon’s performance over the two years was enough to convince his grandfather, team owner Richard Childress, that he was ready for a full-time run in the NASCAR Nationwide Series in 2012. Others who have observed Dillon’s progress concur. “I think the sky is the ceiling,” Jeff Burton, a veteran NASCAR Sprint Cup driver from the RCR stable, said of Dillon. “I think he has an extreme amount of talent. He’s smart, he understands racing, he is mature, he’s got a good head on his shoulders. He can go as far as he wants to go.” Moving up with Dillon to the NASCAR Nationwide Series this year is the No. 3 he drove in both of his NASCAR Camping World Truck Series campaigns. The number was made famous by seven-time NASCAR Sprint Cup Series champion and former RCR driver Dale Earnhardt, who died as a result of an accident on the final lap of the 2001 Daytona 500. A standout rookie campaign in the NASCAR Nationwide Series could propel Dillon – and possibly the No. 3 – into the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series as early as 2013. Dillon made his NASCAR Sprint Cup debut at Kansas Speedway last fall, driving a No. 98 car. “Everywhere he goes, he’s fast,” said Elliott Sadler, a veteran driver who is a teammate of Dillon’s in the NASCAR Nationwide Series this season. “He’s sat on a lot of poles. And he, honestly, is very mature for his age because he was able to hold off some veterans and win a championship last year. I think he’s going to be really good.” Dillon feels grateful to be a part of the discussion about NASCAR’s most promising young talents. “It means a lot. That’s what you work hard for,” said the son of Mike Dillon, RCR’s vice president of competition. “I have a good background and you want the fans to relate with you and kind of go with me on my journey of moving up through the series. By the time we get there, I want to go win races. This whole sport’s about being competitive and winning races. You can stay in it but you want to be remembered for being a champion and a winner.”

POLE POSITION // 2012

BY JARED TURNER

I’m a really passionate person that really cares about team camaraderie. My team is a very close group of guys that I hang out with each and every week. I feel like lucky I’m in a situation where I get to go to pit practice every day, I get to come up here and work out with them every day and build that relationship with those guys to create trust between us. I have a feel for the business aspect of racing. I like sponsorship and marketing and communications and the other things of racing. I like to hunt and fish.

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I love watching football. I kind of relate that with just growing up playing sports. I prefer pro, for sure. I love the NFL. I play fantasy football like crazy, got into some video games there for awhile and played “Call of Duty” a lot. I let everybody on Twitter know my gamer tag so they could play with me. I have three dogs. I love dogs, I love animals. I have two Chesapeake Bays and just got a new puppy, a Havanese which is small dog you’ll have to look up. But it was a cool opportunity. I just love hanging out with dogs and hanging out with my friends.